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Brownies  and  other  stories  /         .>:'- 


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The  Children  *«  Going  Through." 
PALMER   COX, 


Brownies  o^sIr  Stories 


ILLUSTRATED 


.5X-PALMER  COX 


THE  STORIES  TOLD  IN  PROSE 
By  E-  VEALE, 

The  Fairy  Tales  Authoress, 


CHICAGO: 

M.  A.  DoNOHUE  &  Co. 


The  Brownies'  Visitors. 

The  Isle  of  Fun  and  Frolic  was  the  home  of 
the  Brownie  boys  and  girls,  and  no  one  can  e'er 
deny  that  the  island  was  well  named.  These 
youngsters  had  no  thought  but  to  run  and  play, 
to  sleep  and  to  eat.  They  loved  the  flowers  and 
they  loved  the  birds — and  the  butterflies  led 
them  lively  chases  in  their  games  of  hide  and 
seek.  But  one  day  came  a  change  in  their  lives, 
and  they  learned  that  others  lived  in  the  world 
besides  themselves.  Little  Peak  Hat  discovered 
it,  as  she  stood  on  the  rock  looking  out  toward 
the  sea.  It  was  a  great  vessel  ploughing  the 
waves,  its  white  sails  flapping  in  the  winds,  and 
as  she  watched  she  saw  it  moving  steadily  to- 
ward the  island.  All  the  Brownies  came  rush^ 
ing  at  her  call,  and  their  wonder  knew  no  limit. 
On  came  the  vessel,  closer  and  closer;  the  Brown- 
ies watched  as  long  as  they  dared,  and  ther., 
fearful  of  being  seen,  hurried  away  to  hide  them- 
selves where  they  might  occasionally  take  a  peep. 
"What  great  big  creatures  were  landing  on  the 
island,  and  what  loi"'d  voices  they  hiid  as  they 
called  to  each  other.  It  sounded  to  the  'Broimiea 
like  the  roar  of  distant  thunder.  A](  day  long 
S 


6  The  Brownies'  Visitors. 

the  little  people  remained  hidden,  but  when 
night  came  they  stole  from  their  hiding  places  to 
talk  it  over.  What  kind  little  hearts  these  Brown- 
ies had.    All  the  nice  pieces  of  wood  should  be 


pfled  up  for  these  strange  people's  comfort,  the 
l>est  grapes  should  be  saved  for  them,  they  would 
coax  the  fish  to  nibble,  and  do  all  in  their  power 
to  m»if*^  these  queer  guests  happy.    Indeed  th^ 


The  Brownies'  Visitors. 


^''^med  to  think  of  nothing  else,  and  had  /on 
visited  their  home  in  the  old  forest,  you  i  juld 
have  found  them  busily  engaged  in  plpaning 
how  they  could  add  to  the  comfort  of  their 
strange  guests.  The  Brownies  are  never  so  happy 
as  when  they  are  busy  making  others  happy. 
They  believe  that  the  best  way  to  enjoy  life,  is 
to  give  pleasure  to  those  they  meet.    Of  course 

the  visitors  did  not 
know  what  was  mak- 
ing their  visit  so 
pleasant,  for  these 
busy  little  creatures 
always  work  quietly 
and  seciretly.  The  vis- 
itors did  not  stay 
long,  but  the  Brown- 
ies did  good  service, 
and  when  they  had 
gone,  they  quite 
missed  the  pleasure  they  had  felt  in  mak- 
ing others  happy,  and  they  were  continually 
wishing  that  some  favoring  wind  would  bear 
some  other  ship  to  their  shores  that  they  might 
again  have  an  opportunity  of  renewing  their 
acquaintance  with  these  queer  people. 


The  Fairy  Queen's  Palace. 

All  the  Brownies  had 
promised  to  help,  and  when 
a  Brownie  undertakes  a 
thing  he  works  as  busily  as 
a  beaver  until  it  is  accom- 
plished. ISTow  this  is  what 
they  determined  to  do. 

The  Fairy  Queen^s  palace 

had    been    destroyed  —  a 

wind     that     had     swept 

through    the    forest 

carrying  trees  before 

it,  and  spreading  ruin 

as    it    traveled,    had 

lifted    up    the    Fairy 

Queen's     home     and 

dashed  it  all  to  pieces. 

Poor     little     Queen; 

how  sorrowful  she  felt 

to     lose    the     pretty 

house  whert  the  royal 

family    of    Fairyland 

had  so  long 

lived. 


The  Fairy  Queen's  Pala. ..  9 

But  true  to  their  nature  the  Brownies  came  to 
the  rescue,  promising  to  build  a  palace  far  more 
beautiful  than  the  one  that  was  lost.  Such  help- 
ful little  creatures  as  the  Brownies  never  lived. 
Xo  chance  of  doing  good  to  one  in  trouble  ever 
escapes  these  generous  little  fellows,  and  certain- 
ly this  was  a  work  to  be  hailed  with  much  joy. 

For  a  long  while  before  they  commenced,  you 
could  see  them  gathered  in  groups,  discussing 
how  and  where  they  should  begin,  and  how  they 
could  make  the  palace  more  beautiful.  They 
were  a  funny  looking  set  when  they  started  out 
for  the  place  where  the  house  was  to  be  built 
Each  one  carried  something.  One  little  fellow 
had  an  axe;  another,  hammer  and  nails,  one  the 
mortar  hod,  and  still  another  the  plane,  while 
the  master  worker  could  be  seen  with  the  square 
in  his  hand  giving  directions  to  the  whole 
crowd. 

They  commenced  their  work  one  beautiful 
moonlight  night.  Brownies  you  know,  work 
when  the  darkness  has  put  all  the  world  to  sleep. 
What  a  time  they  had  getting  all  the  things  to- 
gether. Arriving  at  the  spot,  some  fell  to  chop- 
ping wood,  while  others  mixed  the  mortar  and 
rigged  up  the  pulleys  by  which  they  were  to  raise 


lo  The  Fairy  Queen's  Palace 

the  stuff  to  the  roof.  How  the  hammers  rang  out 
as  they  struck  the  bright  little  nails.  The  grind- 
stone went  spinning  around  so  fast  it  hummed 
quite  a  tune,  as  the  carpenter  sharpened  his  tools, 
far  the  Brownies  had  so  much  to  do  they  must 
work  their  very  fastest.  The  plasterer  mixed  the 
mortar;  the  painters  made  their  brushes  fly  over 
the  house;  the  masons  worked  with  a  will  at  the 
chimney,  and  the  paperhanger's  scissors  shut 
with  a  click  as  he  cut  off  the  paper  for  the  palace 
walls,  which  were  to  be  so  prettily  decorated. 

When  morning  came,  all  was  finished,  and  the 
Brownies  felt  proud  and  happy  as  thev  looked  at 
their  night's  work.  They  worked  as  if  by  magic, 
and  almost  before  you  could  think,  the  palace 
rose  high  in  the  air.  The  Brownies  don't  have 
accidents  very  often,  but  they  must  have  been 
nervous  this  time,  for  while  four  or  five  of  them 
were  seated  on  a  "Jack"  painting  the  outside, 
over  went  the  paint,  brushes  and  all,  and  the 
little  fellows  who  were  standing  on  a  ladder 
imdemeatli  had  an  unexpected  bath. 

Tliey  were  only  sorry  to  think  that  they  had 
left  their  camera  at  home,  for  they  would  have 
been  happy  to  give  the  children  a  picture  of  the 
house  as  it  looked  when  it  was  finished. 


The  Brownies'  Plum  Pudding. 


If 


Although  they  were  tired,  and  their  eyes  were 
growing  heavy  with  sleep,  they  felt  repaid  for 
all  their  efforts,  especial- 
ly when  the  Tairy  Queen 
seemed  the  proudest  and 
happiest  of  them  all.  She 
thanked  them  heartily 
for  their  loving  service, 
and  when  they  had  se&n 
her  safely  settled  in  her 
new  home,  they  all  disappeared,  to  be  seen 
no  more  until  there  was  more  good  work  to  be 
done. 


The  Brownies*  Plum  Pudding. 

^WAS  the  evening  of  the  twenty-fourth  of 
December.  The  clouds  had  been  gray  and  heavy 
all  day,  and  now  the  snow  flakes  were  beginning 
to  fall  thick  and  fast,  so  fast  that  already  quite 
a  white  blanket  was  spread  over  the  earth. 

This  did  not  please  the  Brownies;  they  had 
work  to  do,  and  a  snow  storm  would  hinder 
rather  than  help  its  progress. 


12  The  Brownies*  Plum  Pudding. 


The  Brownies'  Plum  Pudding.  1 3 

Somewhere  in  the  woods,  nobody  knew  where, 
for  the  Brownies  kept  the  secret  all  to  them- 
selves, was  a  great  big  Christmas  Pudding  full 
of  plums  and  citrons,  raisins  and  spices,  and  the 
Brownies  wanted  to  bring  that  pudding  home. 

It  was  so  big  and  heavy  that  they  had  built 
something  that  made  one  think  of  a  raft  or  per- 
haps a  ladder  with  the  sides  very  far  apart.  How 
they  put  the  pudding  on  it  would  be  hard  to  tell, 
but  they  managed  it  and  bravely  they  struggled 
with  their  burden  perched  on  their  little  shoul- 
ders. They  took  turns  so  that  no  one  got  too 
tired,  but  all  were  glad  when  they  were  safely 
out  of  the  woods  and  had  landed  the  pudding  in 
the  hollow  of  the  old  tree  back  of  the  school 
house,  for  this  had  been  the  spot  chosen  for  the 
grand  feast  of  the  morrow.  Then  to  their  homes 
they  skipped  away  to  dream  of  the  good  times  in 
store  for  them,  and  if  their  backs  did  ache  and 
their  poor  little  feet  felt  sore  and  weary,  the 
Tision  of  the  pudding  dancing  in  their  heads 
made  them  forget  all  their  woes. 

And  what  a  treat  they  had  on  Christmas 
Day!  The  pudding  was  so  good,  and  the  day 
was  so  merry  that  the  Brownies  wished,  as  they 
ghut  their  sleepy  eyes,  that  Christmas  came  more 


14  The  Raid  of  the  Insect?, 

than  once  a  year.     They  made  up  their  minds 
Chat  they  would  never  let  a  Christmas  go  by 


without  having  a  plum  pudding,  for  it  was  tb« 
hest  thing  they  had  ever  tasted. 


The  Raid  of  the  Insects. 

She  was  Queen  of  the  garden,  this  beautiful 
creature,  and  all  the  flowers  loved  her.  Each 
vied  with  the  other  in  trying  to  please  her.  The 
tall  white  lilies  held  their  heads  still  higher  as 
she  passed  by,  the  tiny  bud  opened  its  curled 
petals  further  and  further  until  it  burst  into  • 


The  Raid  of  the  Insects. 


IS 


gtoAovs  rose,  the  blue  bells  tinkled  their  sweet- 
est music,  and  the  shj,  gentle  mignonette  shed 


forth  its  loveliest  perf um 
in  its  power  for  her  sake. 


very  flower  did  all 


i6 


The  Raid  of  the  Insects, 


And  the  Queen  loved  all  the  flowers,  too.  She 
begged  the  sun  to  shine  down  upon  them,  and 
she  asked  the  morning  dews  to  bathe  their  bright 
faces,  and  the  gentle  rains  to  give  them  plenty  to 
drink. 

At  last  there  came  a  day  when  the  lilies  hung 
their  heads;  blue  bell  and  heart  ease  fell  from 
their  stems;  the  poppies  that  had  gleamed  so 


brightly  in  the  sunlight  covered  their  faces  and 
shone  no  more,  and  all  the  garden  seemed  full  of 
gloom  and  sadness. 

The  insects  had  done  it  all.  With  their 
sharpest  weapons  they  had  attacked  the  flowers, 
making  them  one  by  one  yield  to  their  violence. 

How  this  grieved  the  Flower  Queen;  but  at 
last  she  thought  of  the  Brownies,  and  she  smiled, 


The  Raid  of  the  Insects. 


17 


for  well  she  knew  these  clever  little  workers. 
She  found  a  tnimpet  flower  that  had  escaped  the 


cruel  foe,  and  blew  one  gentle  blast.     Quick  as 
a  wink  the  Brownies  came  running.    Their  faces 


1 8  The  Brownies'  Wedding  Gift. 

looked  sad  when  they  heard  the  trouble,  but 
thej  promised  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  help 
their  gentle  Queen,  and  bravely  they  went  to 
work.  They  took  turns  at  the  grindstone  and 
sharpened  their  spears  and  swords  and  axes  until 
they  glistened  in  the  moonlight,  and  the  insects 
might  well  have  trembled  had  they  seen 
them. 

In  the  morning  when  the  sun  peeped  out  to 
waken  the  flowers,  the  insects  once  more  started 
on  their  raid,  but  they  were  not  prepared  for 
what  followed.  Curled  up  underneath  flowers 
and  bushes  hid  the  Brownies.  Out  they  rushed, 
and  war  raged  fiercely;  but  the  Brownies  came 
off  the  victors,  and  the  bees  and  the  beetles,  the 
hornets,  ants  and  caterpillars  lay  dead  upon  the 
ground. 


The  Brownies'  Wedding  Gift 

Once  upon  a  time,  long,  long  years  ago,  there 
lived  somewhere  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  a  maiden  who  was  as  beautiful  as  an 
angel,  and  better  than  being  beautiful,  she  was 
also  good  and  gentle. 


The  Brownies'  Wedding  Gift.  19 

Elsie  and  her  father  lived  alone,  for  har 
mother  had  died  many  years  before,  and  this 
beautiful  maid  kept  her  father's  house,  and  man- 
aged all  things  like  some  wise  and  noljle  queen„ 
The  poor  people  of  the  village  loved  her,  for  it 
was  her  genue  hands  that  brought  broths  and 
strengthening  food  to  the  sick  mother:^^.  her  beau- 
tiful eyes  that  read  comforting  words  to  the  old 
women,  and  in  her  untiring  arms  many  a  poor 
little  baby  had  been  rocked  to  the  land  of 
dreams. 

There  was  somebody  in  the  village  who  loved 
her  better  than  all  the  people  put  together,  but 
he  dared  not  tell  her,  for  he  was  poor,  very  poor, 
and  she  was  rich  as  a  young  princess.  Xow  it 
happened  that  the  maiden  loved  the  youth  ea 
much  as  he  loved  her,  but  she  was  too  proud  to 
show  her  love,  because  she  thought  that  the 
young  man  did  not  care  for  her. 

One  day  great  changes  came  to  the  home  of 
Elsie.  Iler  father  had  gone  on  a  journey,  and 
when  he  returned  he  did  not  come  "lone  but 
brought  with  him  a  wife,  and  she  brought  with 
her  two  proud  and  unlovely  daughters. 

It  was  a  great  trial  for  the  m^iiden;  she 
and   ber   father   had    always   been   so    happjr 


fo 


The  Brownies'  Wedding  Gift. 


together,  and 
she  wept  when 
she  thought 
of  how  little 
of  his  time 
and  love 
could  now 
be  spared 
for  her.  Well 
might  she 
weep — for  the 
new  mother 
set  right  to 
work  to  pnt 
her  daughters 
in  the  place  of 
Elsie,  and 
with  cruel 
words  and 
taunts  com- 
pelled her  to 
wait  upon 
these  step-sis- 
ters, until  her 
life  became  one  dreadful  burden.  Tales,  un- 
kind and  untrue,  were  carried  to  the  father,  and 


The  Brownies'  Wedding  Gift 


21 


when  his  wrath  was  turned  upon  her  slie  could 
stand  it  no  longer,  and  made  up  her  mind  to 
leave  her  home  forever. 

One  night,  when  thej  all  had  gone  to  a  ball, 


to  which  Elsie  also  had  been  invited,  but  from 
■which  she  had  been  compelled  to  stay  awav  be- 
cause her  beauty  so  far  out-shone  the  gaudy 
make-up  of  the  sisters — she  packed  a  few  treas- 


22  The  Brownies'  Wedding  Gift. 

Tires,  and  with  many  tears  and  farewell  glanceB, 
for  the  spot  she  loved  so  well,  she  went  alone  into 
the  great,  wide  world. 

It  chanced  that  Earnest,  the  youth  who  loved 
the  maiden  with  all  his  heart,  had  grown  restless 
and  nnhappj  thinking  of  his  sweetheart,  and 
jet  not  daring  to  tell  her  his  love,  and  he  had 
oome  to  her  home  thinking  tliat  perhaps  he 
might  iind  comfort  in  being  thus  near  her.  lie 
wandered  np  and  down,  when  all  at  once  he 
stopped,  looked  around  him,  and  then  rubbed 
his  eyes — for  he  surely  must  have  been  dream- 
ing; this  could  not  be  Elsie  who  stood  before 
him.  But  it  was  she  and  no  other — poor  Elsie 
leaving  her  home,  sad  and  broken-hearted. 

Pride  no  longer  held  the  youth  speechless, 
and  sorrow  made  Elsie  see  the  tenderness  and 
gympathy  in  her  lover's  eyes.  Oh,  how  happy 
she  was  as  she  pom'ed  out  to  him  all  her  troubles 
and  found  comfort  and  rest  in  his  loving  arms. 

Ti^hile  the  lovers  stood  together  planning  a 
Hfe  for  the  future — things  had  been  entirely 
taken  out  of  their  hands  by  the  good  little 
Brownies, 

They  had  known  Elsie,  and  worsliipped  her 
for  her  goodness,  and  now  the  time  had  conw 


The  Brownies  and  the  Farmer.  23 

when  the  J  might  show  their  appreciation;  and 
while  the  lovers  talked,  they  had  gathered 
silently  around  them.  Then  the  Queen  of  the 
Brownies  spoke :  "Good  and  lovely  maiden,  and 
noble  youth/'  said  she,  "we  know  of  your  trou- 
bles, and  we  want  to  help  you.  Listen  to  what  I 
tell  you,  and  you  shall  have  riches  in  abundance. 
Go,  when  I  have  finished  talking,  enter  the 
Briarly  woods.  There,  in  the  hollow  tree,  you 
mil  find  a  casket  filled  with  bright  and  shining 
gold;  take  it,  spend  it  wisely,  and  take  with  it 
the  blessings  and  good  will  of  the  Brownies." 
It  was  a  wonderful  wedding  present,  and  filled 
the  lovers'  hearts  -with  gratitude. 


The  Brownies  and  the  Farmer. 

.^TE  Brownies  were  sorrowful,  more  sorrowful 
^lian  they  had  ever  been  in  their  lives  before, 
and  that  is  saying  a  great  deal;  for  Brownies, 
you  know,  live  such  a  long,  long  while,  and  the 
saddest  part  of  all  was  that  there  seemed  no  way 
out  of  their  trouble.  The  Brownies  who  lived 
in  the  apple  orchard  saw  it  first,  and  when  they 


24  The  Brownies  and  the  Farmer. 

told  cfieir  friends,  all  with  one  voice  cried  out: 
"The  wrong  must  be  righted!" 

I^^ow  this  was  the  trouble.  Farmer  Grump 
had  bought  the  Old  Clover  Farm,  where  the 
BroAvnies  had  lived  happily  for  years,  and  now 
each  day  was  full  of  trials  and  discomforts,  for 
this  cruel  farmer  seemed  always  to  be  finding  a 
way  to  make  the  life  of  his  stock  miserable.  The 
cows  had  great  boards  tied  over  their  eyes — so 
large  that  they  could  not  see,  and  so  heavy  that 
when  the  poor  creatures  went  to  crop  the  grass. 
Bang!  Bang!  went  the  board  against  their 
noses. 

The  pigs  suffered,  too.  Into  their  noses  had 
been  driven  rings  that  almost  made  them  bleed 
when  rooting  in  the  ground.  And  what  happi- 
ness do  you  suppose  life  holds  for  a  pig  if  he 
cannot  root? 

The  Brownies  liked  the  donkey,  for  he  seemed 
such  a  patient,  long  suffering  animal;  but  the 
farmer's  children  made  his  life  wretched — they 
beat  him,  they  stoned  him,  they  even  took  their 
naughty  little  feet  and  kicked  him. 

The  sheep  suffered,  and  the  horses,  as  they 
dragged  the  plough  through  the  hard  earth  or 
hauled  heavy  loads  along  the  sandy  roads,  felt 


The  Brownies  and  the  Farmer.  23 

when  they  might  show  their  appreciation;  and 
while  the  lovers  talked,  they  had  gathered 
silently  around  them.  Then  the  Queen  of  the 
Brownies  spoke:  "Good  and  lovely  maiden,  and 
noble  youth,"  said  she,  "we  know  of  your  trou- 
bles, and  we  want  to  help  you.  Listen  to  what  I 
tell  you,  and  you  shall  have  riches  in  abundance. 
Go,  when  I  have  finished  talking,  enter  the 
Briarly  woods.  There,  in  the  hollow  tree,  you 
will  find  a  casket  filled  with  bright  and  shining 
gold;  take  it,  spend  it  wisely,  and  take  with  it 
the  blessings  and  good  will  of  the  Brownies." 
It  was  a  wonderful  wedding  present,  and  filled 
the  lovers'  hearts  with  gTatitude. 


The  Broi/nies  and  the  Farmer. 

"■"^E  Brownies  were  sorrowful,  more  sorrowful 
lian  they  had  ever  been  in  their  lives  before, 
and  that  is  saying  a  gTcat  deal;  for  Brownies, 
you  know,  live  such  a  long,  long  while,  and  the 
saddest  part  of  all  was  that  there  seemed  no  way 
out  Oi  their  trouble.  The  Brownies  who  lived 
in  tlve  apple  orchard  saw  it  first,  and  when  they 


24  l^^e  Brownies  and  the  Farmer. 

told  cfleir  friends,  all  with  one  voice  cried  out: 
"The  wrong  must  be  righted!" 

Isow  this  was  the  trouble.  Farmer  Grump 
had  bought  the  Old  Clover  Farm,  where  the 
Brownies  had  lived  happily  for  years,  and  now 
each  day  was  full  of  trials  and  discomforts,  for 
this  cruel  farmer  seemed  always  to  be  finding  a 
way  to  make  the  life  of  his  stock  miserable.  The 
cows  had  great  boards  tied  over  their  eyes — so 
large  that  they  could  not  see,  and  so  heavy  that 
when  the  poor  creatures  went  to  crop  the  grass. 
Bang!  Bang!  went  the  board  against  their 
noses. 

The  pigs  suffered,  too.  Into  their  noses  had 
been  driven  rings  that  almost  made  them  bleed 
when  rooting  in  the  ground.  And  what  happi- 
ness do  you  suppose  life  holds  for  a  pig  if  he 
cannot  root? 

The  Brownies  liked  the  donkey,  for  he  seemed 
such  a  patient,  long  suffering  animal;  but  the 
farmeris  children  made  his  life  wretched — they 
beat  him,  they  stoned  him,  they  even  took  their 
naughty  little  feet  and  kicked  him. 

The  sheep  suffered,  and  the  horses,  ai^  they 
dragged  the  plough  through  the  hard  earth  or 
hauled  heavy  loads  along  the  sandy  roadsi,  felt 


The  Brownies  and  the  Farmer. 


25 


constantly  the  slash,  slash  of  the  farmer's  cow- 
hide whip. 

Everything  on  the  place  suffered;  so,  do  you 
wonder  the  Brownies  looked  sorrowful? 

At  last  they  could  stand  it  no  longer,  and  all 
met  one  night  at  the  "Seek  us  further'^  tree^ 


^"'^^'^ 


cs^here  the  oldest  Brownie  lived.  He  had  gotten 
up  in  the  limbs,  so  that  all  might  hear,  or,  at 
any  rate,  see  him,  and  announced  that  thev  nad 
long  witnessed  these  scenes  of  cruelty  in  silence, 
but  now  something  must  be  done,  and  they 
wanted  all  the  Brownies  to  help.   He  thought  it 


26  The  Brownies  and  the  Farmer. 

would  be  a  good  plan  if  they  went  when  no  one 
was  around,  and  whispered  in  the  sufferers'  ears 
that  the  time  had  come  when  they  must  rebe). 
They  must  stand  up  for  their  rights. 

'hurrah!''  and  "Three  cheers!"  cried  the 
Brownies  in  chorus,  as  they  waved  their  funny 
little  hats.  The  farmer  heard  the  noise,  but  he 
thought  it  was  only  the  wind  blowing  through 
the  trees  in  the  apple  orchard. 

The  meeting  was  dismissed,  and  quietly  and 
carefully  the  Brownies  went  about  their  work — 
and  they  did  it  well,  too;  for  the  next  morning, 
when  the  farmer  went  to  harness  his  horses,  and, 
as  usual,  brought  the  cruel  w^hip  down  on  their 
back — l?'^.  found  that  two  could  play  at  the  same 
game,  foi  up  wert  the  horses'  heels,  and  sorry 
trouble  Farmer  Grump  had  to  get  them  hai^ 
nessed. 

Then  ihe  pigs  took  their  turn.  They  showed 
their  long  white  tusks,  and  acted  so  savagely 
that  the  farmer  left  them  in  fright  Even  Ned, 
the  patient  donkey,  kicked  up  his  heels,  gal- 
loped away,  and  no  one  could  come  near  him. 
Everything  seemed  possessed  with  the  8am6 
Bpirit,  and  Farmer  Grump  went  to  his  breakfast 
the  most  puzzled  man  you  could  possibly  find 


The  Brownies  and  tlie  Farmer, 


27 


Bnt  tlie  animals  won  the  day,  for  that  very  after- 
noon tlie  farmer  went  to  town,  and  when  he 
came  back  he  was  carrying  a  large  board  painted 
in  great  big  letters,  telling  all  the  neighbors  that 
Ins  stock  was  to  be  sold  the  very  next  daj.  This 
lie  hung  up  by  the  roadside,  and  as  it  was  market 
day,  the  fprmers  learned  the  news,  as  their  tired 


horses  jogged  slowly  along  towards  homa  Th^ 
decided  that  they  would  attend  the  sale,  and 
were  on  hand  bright  and  early  the  next  day. 
The  old  farm  place  was  crowded  with  buyera, 
anjdous  to  get  horses  and  pigs  and  other  animala 
for  little  money. 

How    happy    the    Brownies    were    as    they 
crowded  aroimd,  for  the  new  owners  had  thrown 


?d 


The  Brownies  and  the  Farmer. 


^s-r^sw  ~ .  -  _\F  =^^»>  ■»-« 


The  Brownies'  Ride  2$ 

the  cruel  devices  of  Farmer  Gnimp  away.  They 
were  happy  when  they  thought  of  the  good 
homes  these  poor  animals  had  found — but 
gladdest  of  all  were  they  when  they  thought  of 
l^ed,  for  Widow  Love  had  bought  him  to  cart 
to  market  the  beautiful  butter  that  she  made 
every  week.  They  knew  that  she  would  be  very 
kind  and  gentle  to  their  old  friend.  That  he 
would  have  the  softest  of  straw  for  his  bed  at 
night,  and  the  finest  oats  for  his  dinner,  while 
there  would  be  no  cruel  children  to  beat  and 
kick  him  and  make  his  life  miserable.  Xed  lived, 
a  long  while  to  enjoy  this  beautiful  home,  and 
the  Brownies  always  found  him  a  faithful 
servant 


The  Brownies'  Ride. 

"Are  you  in  the  humor  for  a  lark,  boys?^'  It 
was  Dot,  the  very  smallest,  and,  as  everybody 
knows,  the  most  mischievous  of  all  the  Brownies, 
who  said  it. 

'^e  are  that!"  was  the  reply. 

They  were  coming  home  from  school,  these 
Brownie  boys,  and  dinner  pails  and  books  were 


y>  The  Brownies*  Ride* 

tlirown  down  at  once  while  they  crowded  around 
Dot  to  hear  of  the  prospective  fun. 

"You  know  that  clover  field  to  tlie  right  a^ 


the  big  stone  house,"  he  began,  "^^ell,  some 
time  ago  Grimes  put  up  a  sign,  which  read: 
Horses  taken  to  Pasture.'  You  should  see  the 
ittck  he  has  had.    I  guess  as  many  as  a  doaem 


The  Brownies*  Ride.  51 

borses  are  running  around  in  that  pasture  field 
It's  bad  for  them  to  do  nothing  but  eat  all  day, 
so  I  thought  we  would  be  doing  a  good  thing  for 
them,  and  for  ourselves  too,  if  to-nighL^ — ^you 
know  it  is  moon-light — ^we  borrow  these  horses 
and  go  for  a  ride." 

You  should  have  heard  the  yells  of  delight 
with  which  this  scheme  was  greeted.  IN^obody 
but  approved,  except,  of  course.  Croak;  he  al- 
ways objects  to  everything. 

The  plan  was  for  them  to  meet  at  the  school- 
house  at  ten  o'clock,  then  go  together  to  the 
pasture  lot.  A  number  of  the  Brownies  were  tc 
bring  ropes,  which  they  would  tie  around  the 
horses'  necks,  and  haul  them  into  the  road. 

The  hour  came;  the  Brownies  met,  and  the 
work  began.  They  had  forgotten  saddles,  but 
some  of  them  crawled  through  the  windows  in 
the  harness  maker's  shop  and  came  back  loaded 
with  both  saddles  and  bridles.  Such  a  time  as 
they  had  getting  them  on,  and  so  many  Brownies 
had  been  invited  that  there  were  not  enough 
horses  to  go  around;  so  two,  and  sometimes  three 
saddles  must  be  put  on  one  horse. 

All  wa«  ready  at  last,  and  off  they  started.  It 
was  so  funny  to  see  them.  Some  of  them  actually 


3i  The  Quarrel. 

hung  on  to  the  stirrup  straps.  Things  went 
pretty  smoothly  at  first,  but,  oh  my!  what  a 
difference  by  and  by.  Saddles  slipped,  bridles 
came  undone,  and  the  Brownie  boys,  and  even 
the  poor  horses,  went  over  and  rolled  aroimd  in 
the  mud.  But  the  bitter  must  be  taken  with  the 
sweet,  so  nobody  dared  complain.  When  the 
ride  was  over,  and  the  horses  and  harness  were 
put  in  their  proper  places,  everybody  pronounced 
it  one  of  the  best  frolics  he  had  ever  had  in  hi3 
Efe. 


The  Quarrel. 

They  were  rivals — the  Gobbler  and  tho 
Gander.  Their  home  was  at  the  Brookside 
Farm,  and  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  prettier 
home  than  this.  It  was  a  big  old-fashioned 
house,  and  it  had  stood  for  years  and  years.  The 
brook  ran  along  on  one  side,  and  day  after  day  it 
babbled  as  it  flowed,  and  the  little  daisies  lifted 
up  their  pretty  heads  to  listen  to  its  merry 
songs,  and  when  night  came  their  drowsy  head? 
dropped  as  the  brook  murmured  a  low,  sweet 
lullaby. 


The  Quarrel.  -^3 

The  gander  had  been  enjoying  the  cool,  ckar 
waters  of  the  brook.  He  had  thought  himself  a 
very  beautiful  bird,  as  he  sailed  gracefully  up 
and  do^vn,  arching  his  long  white  neck  mth  a 
perfect  air  of  contentment.  The  other  geese  at 
the  farm  were  quite  young,  some  of  them  so 
young  that  they  looked  like  little  lumps  of  yel- 
low gold  as  they  plunged  boldly  into  the  water. 
And  why  should  they  fear?  For  the  brook  had 
murmured,  coaxingly:  "Come,  little  baby  bird. 
Come  bathe  in  my  waters;  I  will  not  hurt  you; 
I  will  sing  you  low,  pretty  songs."  The  gander 
remembered  when  the  brook  had  gently  called 
to  him,  and  he  smiled  as  he  thought  how  long 
ago. 

His  swim  over,  he  had  come  on  shore,  and 
once  more  donned  his  cap  and  trousers,  and  even 
better  satisfied  than  ever,  had  started  home  for 
his  dinner. 

"Ha!  Ha!  Ha!''  he  heai-d  behind  him,  and 
again,  "Ha!  Hal  Ha!"  Turning  around,  whom 
should  he  see  but  the  gobbler  rigged  in  his  very 
best,  his  tail  spread  out  just  as  wide  as  he  could 
get  it,  and  looking  very  grand  indeed,  even  the 
gander  had  to  admit  as  much  as  his  eyes  rested 
upon  him. 


34 


The  Quarrel. 


'TDon't  you  think  you  are  a  sight  !^  said  the 
Oohbler.  "Go  look  at  yourself  in  the  brook  over 


'-WMtff 


fonder;  you^ll  surely  agree  with  me  that  a  moir 
ridiculous  bird  than  yourself  never  lived." 


The  Quarrel.  33 

^^Eidiciiloiis,  indeed!''  replied  the  angry- 
Gander.  "K  you  but  knew  what  a  sight  you 
were,  never  again  would  you  strut  around  the 
baxuyardi" 

*^Strut  do  you  call  it?"  exclaimed  the  GobDit?r. 
*T.  pride  myself  that  my  walk  is  most  elegant 
Now,  if  I  waddled  as  you  do  I'd  hang  my  head 
with  shame.'' 

**'Tis  hut  your  jealousy  that  makes  you  talk 
so,"  said  the  Gander;  "you  think  because  you  are 
tall  and  your  legs  are  long,  that  you'll  be  much 
admired  and  praised — but  people  do  not  notice 
you  when  I  am  sailing  on  the  waters;  then  it  is 
that  you  must  stand  in  the  backgTound,  and  my 
short  legs  and  broad-web  feet  serve  me  as  your 
feet  and  legs  never  can  you." 

TVord  followed  word,  and  these  foolish  birds 
grew  angrier  all  the  time.  The  rooster  stopped 
the  quarrel,  for  their  loud  words  had  attracted 
the  other  birds.  'T)o  you  know,"  said  he,  "you 
have  kept  up  this  foolish  nonsense  so  long  that 
now  you  have  lost  your  dinner?  'Tis  an  hour 
ago  since  Ann  came  with  her  shining  tin  pan 
full  of  com,  but  you  paid  no  attention  to  her. 
Today's  loss  is  a  small  loss,  but  it  might  have 
been  much  greater.     Do  hereafter  remembof 


36  The  Dissatisfied  Owl. 

your  positions,  and  try  to  act  more  like  grown-up 
fowls,  than  like  two  tiny,  newly-katcked  birds. 
Remember  tkat  the  little  folks  of  the  barnyard 
look  to  you  as  an  example." 


The  Dissatisfied  Owl. 

Blutky  Winky  was  a  little  gray  owl  that  lived 
in  the  plum  tree  at  the  meeting  of  the  cross- 
roads. He  slept  all  day,  and  at  night  perched  on 
one  of  the  branches  and  greeted  the  wagons  as 
they  went  by  with  a  low  "Whoo!  Whoo!"  He 
did  not  mean  to  be  inquisitive,  only  pleasant  and 
friendly,  at  least  that  is  what  he  used  to  do,  but 
now  he  has  grown  very  quiet  and  solemn,  and 
heeds  not  the  wagons  as  they  go  rumbling  by. 

The  lark  had  been  the  cause  of  all  the  trouble. 
In  the  early  spring  she  had  come  to  live  across 
the  road  from  Blinky,  and  her  song,  so  sweet 
and  clear,  filled  his  whole  heart  with  wonder 
and  awe.  ^T.i  the  lark  can  sing,''  thought 
Blinlvy,  "why  can't  I?"  And  he  tried  to  throw 
back  his  head  and  pour  forth  the  same  sweet 
tones,  but  this  was  impossible  with  his  short,  fat 
neck,  smd  his  mightiest  effort  was  of  no  avail. 


The  Dissatisfied  Owl. 


37 


So  day  bj  day  Blinkj  grew  sadder  and  sadder, 
but  still  tbe  lark  sang  on,  not  knowing  what  mi- 
happiness  she  brought  to  poor  silly  Winky- 


:j| 


One  night  he  left  his  home,  more  miserable 
than  ever,  and  perched  himself  upon  the 
fence    rail    to    brood    over    his    troubles.      It 


jS  The  Dissatisfied  Owl. 

was  a  bright  moonlight  night,  and  the  owl 
family  that  lived  in  the  apple  tree  saw 
Blinky  Winky  sitting  all  alone,  and  started 
off,  one  after  the  other,  to  bring  him  home 
with  them.  Such  a  doleful  bird  as  they 
found.  It  was  a  long  while  before  Blinky  would 
tell  them  his  secret,  but  once  started,  he  poured 
forth  his  whole  sad  tale.  They  pitied  and  they 
£€olded  him,  and  their  scolding  did  him  good, 
for  when  morning  dawned,  and  it  was  time  to 
go  home,  they  had  led  him  to  see  the  folly  of  his 
ways  and  to  resolve  to  try  to  be  satisfied  with 
himself,  and  not  aim  to  be  like  somebody  else. 
He  learned,  after  spending  many  unhappy  days 
and  weary  nights,  that  God  had  not  made  his 
little  throat  in  such  a  manner  that  he  could  sing. 
Tt  was  a  good  lesson  for  him  and  all  his  brothers 
and  Fosters.  Perhaps  little  boys  and  girls  can 
learn  something  from  this  story  of  the  dissatis- 
fied owl,  and  it  is  this:  "Don't  think  you  can 
do  everytliing  you  see  other  people  doing;/' 


Meddlesome  Peter. 

The  Bear  family  lived  together  in  as  pretty  a 
place  as  you  could  well  find.  The  trees  grew 
tall  and  large  and  spread  their  branches  over  the 
earth,  leaving  only  room  enough  for  the  sun  to 
creep  gently  through  by  day,  and  for  the  little 
stars  to  twinkle  brightly  through  at  night.  Ferns 
tall  and  stately  grew  in  this  place,  and  delicate, 
pale  green  ferns  with  the  gentle  blue-eyed  violet 
peeping  from  their  midst,  helped  to  beautify  the 
Bear  family's  dwelling  place. 

The  Bruin  household  would  have  been  just  as 
happy  as  Bears  could  be,  if  it  had  not  been  for 
troublesome  Peter.  He  was  the  oldest  Bruin 
cub  and  just  as  full  of  naughtiness  as  was  possi- 
ble, and  his  greatest  fault  was  his  meddlesome 
ways.  There  was  nothing  into  whic^i  ^<>  would 
not  poke  his  paws. 

One  day,  while  out  on  a  ramble,  he  spied  a 
bright,  shining  steel  trap.  K'ow  Peter  had  never 
seen  one  before,  and  quick  as  a  flash  he  grabbled 
it  up  to  learn  all  about  it,  and  he  soon  found  out 
to  his  sorrow.  Snap  went  the  spring,  and  poor 
Peter  howled  with  pain.  Fate  was  good  to 
Peter  this  time,  for  as  he  jumped  around  in  his 
39 


40  Meddlesome  Peter. 

fury,  the  spring  gave  away,  and  off  came  the 
trap,  leaving  young  Bruin,  however,  with  as  sore 
a  paw  as  ever  you  could  guess. 

JSTow,  one  would  think  that  this  experience 
would  prove  a  good  lesson  to  Peter;  but  no 
sooner  had  his  paw  gotten  well  than  he  had  for- 
gotten all  about  his  encounter  with  the  trap  and 
was  at  mischief  again.  Mother  Bruin  coaxed, 
Father  Bruin  scolded.  Peter  always  tried  to  do 
better,  but  his  memory  usually  proved  too  short, 
and  promises  went  for  nothing.  One  bright 
spring  day  he  started  off  through  the  woods  to 
hunt  for  fun,  as  he  called  these  foolish,  pranks 
with,  which  he  was  constantly  dealing.  He 
chased  the  butterflies,  hurled  stones  at  the  bop- 
toads,  and  then  sat  down  on  the  ground  to  eat 
the  wild  cherries  that  had  fallen  from  the  thickly 
laden  boughs.  'Now  Peter's  eyes  were  always 
wandering  restlessly  around,  and  all  of  a  sudden 
they  rested  on  a  big  hollow  in  a  tree  close  by. 
^'That's  a  squirrel's  house,"  thought  Peter.  "I 
wonder  if  the  little  fellow  has  any  nuts  left  over 
from  last  winter;  I'll  go  see,  I  guess."  With 
Peter  to  think  was  to  act,  and  he  thrust  his  paw 
away  down  deep  in  the  hollow.  Peter  had  found 
something,  but  not  nuts.     The  bees  had  discov- 


Meddlesome  Peter.  41 

ered  tJiis  place  first  and  were  using  it  as  thedr 


storo-HoTlse  for  honey,     i^ow  Peter's  intrusion 
vas  not  to  tlieir  liking,  and  their  sharp  little 


42  Poor,  Sick  Bruin. 

stings  soon  told  him  so.  They  swarmed  all 
around  Mm,  until  lie  felt  as  if  he  were  covered 
with  them,  and  the  faster  he  ran,  the  more  they 
chased  him.  He  could  neither  run  away,  nor 
hide  from  them.  'Not  until  he  was  well  punished 
did  they  leave  him,  tingling  with  pain,  but  re- 
solved, we  hope,  to  once  more  try  to  do  better, 
and  not  to  meddle. 


Poor,  Sick  Bruin. 

Once  upon  a  time,  when  Jack  Frost  had  com- 
menced to  shake  the  leaves  from  the  trees  after 
first  painting  them  in  bright  crimson  and  glow- 
ing yellow,  and  some  in  dull  russet  brown,  Mr. 
Bruin  fell  sick.  He  had  been  to  a  dance  in  the 
Kingston  Woods.  Miss  Bunny  had  invited  him, 
and  old  Bruin  had  thought  her  the  bright<«t, 
cunningest  little  creature  he  had  met  for  mai  y 
a  lo-ng  day.  Of  course  she  was  too  tiny  for  him 
to  dance  with,  but  he  sat  and  chatted  with  her, 
which  he  really  thought  was  much  pleasanter, 
at  least  he  had  thought  so  at  the  time,  but  now 
he  was  paying  for  his  frolic.     The  ground  had 


Poor,  Sick  Bruin.  43 

been  too  damp  and  cold,  and  tlie  chill  winds  had 
gotten  into  his  bones,  and  he  was  the  most  mis- 
erable f elloTV  yon  could  possibly  find.    **'0  dear," 


thought  he,  "why  was  I  so  silly.  Well  might  I 
have  known  what  folly  it  was  to  leave  my  good 
warm  home,  and  spend  all  those  honrs  out  in  th« 


44  Poor,  Sick  Bruin. 

cliill  mght  air."  But  it  was  too  late  to  sit  and 
grumble  over  follies  that  have  been  committed, 
so  Bruin  wrapped  himself  in  a  green  plaid  shawl, 
tied  up  his  head  in  a  red  and  white  handkerchief, 
and  sat  to  wait  for  Dr.  "Wolf  to  pass  along.  Dr. 
Wolf  had  been  called  to  pay  a  visit  to  a  little 
sick  guinea-pig,  and  his  way  led  him  past  old 
Bruin's  house.  Bruin  saw  him,  called  to  him, 
and  the  doctor  came  trotting  in.  He  took  off 
his  tall  black  hat,  laid  it  on  the  table,  put  on 
his  glasses,  and  prepared  to  examine  his  patient. 
The  doctor  felt  his  pulse,  shook  his  head,  and 
then  looked  at  his  tongue.  "Oh,  ho!  mj  friend," 
said  he,  "you  have  caught  a  cold,  that  is  certain; 
but,  my  good  fellow,  I  am  afraid  there  is  some- 
thing more.  I  fear  that  you  feast  too  much  upon 
the  dainties  of  the  land.  Your  larder  seems  well 
filled  with  tempting  food,  but  if  you  take  my 
advice  you  will  leave  this  alone  for  awhile,  and 
content  yourself  with  a  good  big  bowl  of  mush 
and  milk.  You  have  a  very  high  fever,  and  if 
you  eat  of  such  rich  food  you  will  surely  die.  .1 
am  going  to  put  you  to  bed,  and  you  must  not 
get  up  for  a  week;  you  are  getting  along  in 
years,  so  you  must  take  extra  care  of  yourself. 
I  shall  leave  you  some  pills  to  take  every  hour, 


•^^ 


The  Squirrel's  Visitor  45 

unless  you  are  asleep.  I  shall  be  passing  here 
again  in  the  morning,  and  will  drop  in  to  see 
jou.  I  hope  to  find  vou  much  better.'^  Then 
the  doctor  went  away,  leaving  Bruin  a  sadder 
and  wiser  bear  and  resolved  in  the  future  to  tr)' 
to  live  more  sim^^ly,  and  to  let  his  poorer  neigh- 
bors share  the  dainties  that  had  proved  his  foe. 


The  Squirrel's  Visitor. 

In  the  Maple  Woods,  just  outside  the  town, 
lived  an  old  gray  squirrel.  He  was  a  big  squirrel 
and  just  as  fat  as  butter.  One  time,  long  ago, 
he  had  been  caught  in  a  rat-trap,  and  his  leg 
pretty  badly  torn.  A  bright-eyed,  red-cheeked 
boy  had  found  him,  and  carefully  and  gently 
had  lifted  the  heavy  wire  frame,  and  had  taken 
Frisk  out.  The  poor  little  squirrel  was  hurt  and 
frightened,  and  the  boy  felt  sorry  for  him.  He 
carried  him  home  in  his  arms,  and  then  wrapped 
him  in  a  soft,  warm  blanket  and  put  him  in  a 
basket.  He  meant  to  doctor  his  wounded  leg 
and  keep  him  for  a  pet.  Frisk,  however,  did  not 
like  this  notion,  and  in  the  morning,  when  the 


48 


The  Wolf's  First  Party. 


on  a  piece  of  bircli  bark.  ^^liss  Fo?  requests 
the  presence  of  Mr.  Wolf  at  a  party  in  the  hol- 
low/' the  invitation  read,  and  the  wolf  felt  as 
though  he  had  some  standing  in  the  world  now, 


mff^cox 


for  never  before  had  any  one  called  him  ""ULr, 
Wolf. 

lie  got  up  bright  and  early  the  morning  of 
the  eventful  day,  and  hurried  from  among  the 


The  Wolf's  First  Party.  49 

leaf-covered  trees  to  hunt  for  the  sun  that  was 
just  showing  her  smiling  face  above  the  hill, 
behind  v.nich  she  had  hidden  all  through  the 
night  The  wolf  gave  her  a  friendly  nod,  and 
gazed  at  the  blue  sky  with  feelings  of  the  great- 
est pleasure.  He  felt  he  could  scarcely  bear  it 
if  the  rain  should  fall,  for  he  had  almost  reached 
the  limit  of  his  patience  in  waiting  for  the  party, 
and  the  rain  would  mean  that  he  must  wait  still 
longer.  But  on  this  bright  spring  morning  there 
were  certainly  no  signs  of  rain.  Early  in  the 
afternoon  the  wolf  began  getting  ready.  He 
washed  his  face  and  hands  in  the  little  brook 
that  splashed  and  sang  as  it  danced  over  the 
stones,  and  then,  as  it  grew  broader,  flowed 
gently  and  silently  along.  The  brook  was  the 
wolf's  mirror,  t<^o,  and  a  pine  cone  served  him 
for  a  comb.  The  poor,  silly  wolf  was  ready 
hours  before  it  was  time  to  start,  and  he  won- 
dered if  one  always  felt  so  anxious  over  their  en- 
trance into  society.  He  wondered,  too,  if  he 
were  really  not  more  nervous  than  little  Miss 
Fox. 

But  at  last  the  time  of  departure  arrir'^d,  and 
the  wolf  started  off.  He  must  have  something 
to  '^-axry,  for  he  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  his 


50  The  Crow. 

hands;  so,  remembering  that  some  one  had  told 
liim  that  you  had  better  have  an  umbrella  and 
noli  want  it,  than  to  want  it  and  not  have  it,  he 
carried  his  big  green  sun-shade. 

He  was  the  first  to  arrive,  and  Miss  Fox  was 
so  pleasant  and  made  him  so  welcome  that  he 
never  felt  so  hai)pj  before.  !N"or  did  this  happi- 
ness  end,  for  when  all  the  guests  had  taken  leave, 
the  woK  remained  to  tell  Miss  Fox  that  this  had 
been  the  best  and  brightest  time  in  all  his  life. 
For  many  days  he  thought  about  the  fine  times 
he  had  had  at  his  first  party,  and  wondered  if  he 
would  always  have  such  fun,  and  if  all  the  ladies 
were  as  nice  as  Miss  Fox. 


The  Crow. 

Did  you  ever  notice  a  number  of  black  ob- 
jects flying  through  the  air  or  perhaps  assembled 
in  a  flock  hunting  for  worms,  or  caterpillars,  or 
grubs,  or  maybe  feasting  on  some  fallen  grains? 
These  are  crows,  and  if  you  could  examine  them 
closely  you  would  see  how  beautifully  their 
glossy,  black  wings  are  tinged  with  dull  blue  and 
brown  and  purple.     They  are  very  shy  aiiS 


The  Cfow.  5S 

cmming  and  verj  fearful  of  the  farmer's  gun, 
witL.  which  thej  seem  to  be  well  acquainted. 
One  of  them  serves  as  watchman,  and  when  he 
sees  danger  approaching  he  sounds  the  alarm, 
and  all  the  crows  within  hearing  distance  flj  ap 
and  away.  The  eggs  of  the  crow  are  laid  in  nests 
made  of  sticks  woven  with  grasses  and  lined  with 
soft  roots,  feathers,  or  wool.  Both  the  father 
and  mother  bird  sit  on  the  eggs,  and  watch  with 
great  care  over  their  young.  The  crow  can  fly 
very  swiftly,  and  sometimes  to  great  heights,  and 
it  can  also  fly  long  distances.  Have  you  ever 
noticed  one  perched  on  a  cow  or  perhaps  a 
sheep's  back?  It  has  perched  itself  there  to  pick 
the  worm  out  from  the  skin.  Their  cry  of  Caw! 
Caw!  Caw!  is  very  ugly,  and  what  a  din  they 
make  when  they  gather  together  in  little  parties 
early  in  the  morning  to  go  in  search  of  food,  or 
else  at  night  when  they  are  hunting  for  some 
pleasant  roosting  place.  The  crow  is  a  very 
brave  bird  and  is  not  afraid  to  attack  the  hawk 
that  sometimes  comes  swooping  down  upon  it. 
Its  sharp,  black  eyes  are  of  great  service  in  its 
search  for  food — indeed  it  is  upon  this  sense  that 
it  depends  and  not  upon  the  sense  of  smell.  Its 
keen  sight  also  protects  it  from  the  attack  of  the 


^2  Bruin's  Visit. 

enemj.  Sometimes  you  come  across  a  crow  tliat 
is  perfectly  white,  but  this  is  not  the  case  often. 
The  crow  makes  a  very  amusing  and  interesting 
pet,  'except  that  it  has  the  bad  habit  of  stealing. 
Thousands  of  crows  are  killed  every  year  by 
traps  or  the  farmer's  gun,  and  often  and  often 
the  poor  little  young  ones  are  killed  in  their 
nests  by  the  hands  of  cruel  and  naughty  boys. 
The  crow  does  steal  the  farmer's  grain  and  pull 
up  the  young  seedlings,  but  he  would  be  less 
merciless  to  the  poor  bird,  if  he  only  saw  how 
much  good  he  does  in  destroying  the  worms  and 
bugs,  the  mice  and  moles,  which  really  eat  up 
lots  and  lots  more  than  the  much  abused  black 
crow.  Sometimes  the  farmers  set  up  "scare- 
crows" in  the  fields  to  frighten  the  thieves  away, 
but  they  soon  learn  that  it  is  only  a  make-believe 
man,  and  are  not  afraid. 


Bruin's  Visit. 

Jack  Feost  was  raging  around  in  all  his  fury; 
great  white  Hakes  fell  thick  and  fast  and  settled 
one  above  the  other  upon  the  ground,  making  a 
blanket  soft  and  warm  for  the  little  plants  that 


Bruin's  Visit.  53 

lay  hidden  under  the  earth.  The  trees  moaned 
and  shook  their  boughs  as  the  wind  went  whist- 
ling through  tliem,  and  the  little  snow  birds 
hopped  gracefully  from  limb  to  limb  hoping  to 
find  a  stray  worm  or  bug  to  satisfy  their  hungry 
little  selves. 

Bruin  had  started  bright  and  early  that  morn- 
ing to  visit  his  cousin,  a  brown  bear  who  lived  in 
the  woods  beyond  the  school  house.  It  was  a 
long  journey,  but  Bruin  cared  little  for  that,  for 
he  knew  the  way,  and  knew  also  the  good  times 
that  he  and  Cousin  Bear  enjoyed  together.  Well 
he  remembered  his  last  visit.  TVhat  sport  they 
had  playing  ten  pins,  with  sticks  for  pins  and 
stones  for  balls.  How  they  enjoyed  the  game 
of  catch  with  the  big  horse  chestnuts  that  fell 
from  their  prickly  coverings  and  lay  scattered  on 
the  ground.  The  snow  had  put  a  stop  to  ten 
pins  and  catch,  but  it  had  brought  sport  of  its 
own,  for  what  better  fun  could  two  young  bears 
want  than  a  jolly  game  of  snow-ball  or  a  ride  on 
the  school-house  hill?  TTith  all  these  good  times 
dancing  in  his  head,  Bruin  started  off.  ]!,Iother 
ITature  had  given  him  a  thick  furry  coat,  but 
old  Jack  Frost  did  his  best  to  pierce  through  this 
heevy  brown  covering,   and  make  him  hurry 


Bruin's  Visit.  55 

9lt>ng  to  keep  good  and  warm.  The  scliool  house 
came  in  sight  as  he  turned  the  last  corner,  and 
Cousin  Beards  home  was  soon  reached. 

How  glad  Cousin  Bear  was  to  see  him.  They 
chatted  away  as  busy  as  beavers,  for  there  was  so 
much  to  tell  and  so  much  to  hear,  but  all  was 
told  at  last,  and  then  arose  the  question — what 
next  to  do.  Snow-balling  was  fun  for  awhile, 
but  their  paws  got  too  cold.  They  could  not  go 
up  on  the  hill,  for  all  the  school  children  were 
out  with  their  sleds,  and  there  certainly  was  not 
room  for  them  both. 

"Let's  have  a  game  of  hide  and  seek,"  said 
Cousin  Bear. 

Bruin  liked  that  idea  and  cheerfully  con- 
sented. Cousin  Bear  shut  his  eyes,  and  Bruin 
hurried  off  to  find  some  good  hiding  place.  First 
he  tried  one  and  then  another,  but  nothing  suited 
him,  until  at  last  the  very  thing  met  his  gaze. 
Time  had  worn  a  great  hole  in  an  old  oak  tree. 
There  it  stood,  bending  its  leafless  limbs  as 
though  beckoning  Bruin  to  crawl  inside.  Such 
a  splendid  chance  could  not  be  missed.  My !  how 
good  and  warm  it  was.  Bruin  was  tired,  and 
before  he  knew  it  he  had  gone  sound  asleep. 
How  long  he  slept  he  did  not  know,  but  when 


56  Bruin's  Visit. 

lie  opened  his  eyes  the  shadows  had  crept  heavily 
over  the  woods,  and  night  was  coming  on  apaca 


Cousin   Bear  started  in  surprise  when  Bruin 
rushed  breathlessly  into  his  house,  for  as  he 


Bruin's  Visit.  57 

could  not  find  him  he  thought  he  had  gone  home, 
and  then  how  he  laughed  when  Bruin  told  of 
his  hiding  place,  and  thej  both  thought  It  a 
great  joke  that  Bruin  had  fallen  asleep,  while 
he  was  playing.  He  said  he  would  remember 
to  look  there  for  him  next  time  they  had  a  game. 
Bruin  warmed  himself  by  the  bright  fire,  and 
then  said  he  must  be  going.  Cousin  Bear  would 
not  hear  a  word  as  to  his  leaving  until  they  had 
had  supper.  So  he  set  out  the  very  best  his  store- 
house afforded,  and  they  both  had  a  very  merry 
time,  eating  the  turkey  and  fat  little  lamb,  which 
the  bear  had  stolen  the  night  before.  When  they 
had  cleared  the  table  and  washed  the  dishes, 
Bruin  trotted  off  towards  his  home  as  fast  as  he 
could.  It  was  dark  before  he  reached  his  own 
woods,  but  he  was  not  afraid,  for  he  knew  every 
step  of  the  way.  He  was  pretty  well  tired  out 
when  he  got  home,  and  it  did  not  take  him  very 
long  to  get  ready  for  bed.  As  he  curled  himself 
up  for  a  good  long  sleep,  he  felt  satisfied  over  a 
very  happy  day. 


The  Owl  and  the  Bat. 


"Good  evening,  Miss  Bat/'  said  the  grave  gvay 
owi,  "pray  may  I  come  up  and  chat  awhile?'' 

"Indeed,  you  may,  Mr.  Owl,"  replied  the  bat. 
"It's  such  a  beautiful  evening  that  I  have  been 
sitting  up  here  ever  so  long  watching  the  moon, 
as  she  played  hide  and  seek  among  the  trees;  the 
stars  seem  to  be  enjoying  the  game  as  much  as 
I,  for  they  twinkle  as  brightly  as  diamonds  so 
far  above  us  all." 

'T.  see  you  have  an  eye  for 
the  beautiful,  my  dear  young 
lady,"  said  the  owl,  "but  if 
you  but  knew  it,  the  most 
beautiful  thing  I  have  seen  in 
all  my  life  is  yourself." 

The  bat  hung  her  head  and 
looked  quite  shy,  while  the 
owl  blinked  his  eves  and 
looked  as  though  he  thought 
lie  had  really  said  something 
most  elegant. 

"Do  you  know,  my 
dear,"    continued   the     „^^4 
owl,  "I  have  watched 


♦*>vv 


S8 


The  Owl  and  the  Bat. 


59 


you  night  after  night  as  you  floated  around  so 
gracefully,  never  interfering  with  the  other  birds^ 
but  going  quietly  about  your  own  business,  and 
I  decided  that  some  day  or  other  I  would  ask  you 
if  you  would  not  consent  to  be  ]\Irs.  Owl.  The 
time  has  come,  Batty  dear,  and  I  hope  you  will 
say  yes.'' 


,^^^^^f^V 


The  bat  did  say  yes,  for  she  had  long  admired 
^he  owl.  She  liked  his  solemn  ways,  and  thought 
him  a  very  handsome  bird. 

It  was  decided  that  they  should  be  married 
very  soon — the  very  next  week,  in  fact,  for  the 
moon  would  be  shining  in  all  her  glory  then,  and 
the  guests  could  not  be  asked  to  come  in  the 


6o  The  Owl  and  the  Bat. 

dark,  even  though  it  might  be  pleasanter  for  the 
bride  and  groom. 

The  stork  wrote  the  invitations.  He  wrote 
them  on  the  leaves  of  the  water-lilies,  using  his 
long  sharp  beak  for  a  pen. 

The  night  of  the  wedding  came,  and  with  it 
many  guests.  The  stork  and  the  crane  came  to- 
gether, for  they  lived  in  the  same  pond.  The 
eagle  and  the  buzzard  met  as  they  came  sailing 
through  the  air. 

The  happy  pair  were  soon  made  one,  and  then 
what  merry  times  they  had.  The  lark  and  the 
nightingale  sang  their  brightest  songs,  and  all 
joined  hands  in  a  lively  dance.  Morning  came 
only  too  soon,  and  the  guests  must  go,  and  as 
the  owl  kissed  his  little  bride,  he  cashed  that 
all  her  life  might  be  just  as  happy  as  the  first 
night  had  been.  What  a  happy  time  the  bridal 
party  had  for  the  next  few  weeks.  "When  the 
guests  had  all  gone,  they  packed  their  trunks, 
and  hastened  away  to  spend  their  honey-moon 
among  the  pine  forests  of  the  Green  Mountains. 
They  traveled  from  place  to  place,  journeying 
by  night  aud  resting  by  day;  for  strange  as  it 
may  seem,  these  queer  creatures  can  neither  of 
them  see  when  the  beautiful  «un  is  shining. 


The  Owl  and  the  Bat. 


5l 


Thj  have  si: oh  curious  eyes  that  the  light  makes 
them  blina  So  thej  used  to  spend  the  long 
summer  days  nestled  close  together  on  the 
branch  of  some  high  tree.-  At  night  they  would 
fly  about  here  and  there,  watching  the  other 
animals  and  enjoying  the  pure  air. 


The  owl  is  a  very  wise  bird,  you  Iniow,  so  he 
was  able  to  tell  his  trusting  little  wife  many  in- 


teresting things. 


After  spending  a  very  pleasant  time,  they  re- 
turned to  their  home,  and  settled  down  to  spend 
a  very  happy  life. 


Unhappy  Bruin. 

PooE  Bruin's  life  seemed  marked  with  mib- 
fortunes.  Bruin  was  not  one  of  the  happj  crea- 
tures who  have  the  good  fortune  to  be  bom 
under  a  luckj  star — the  night  must  have  been 
cloudj  and  most  miserably  starless  when  he 
opened  his  eyes  in  this  wide,  wide  world.  As 
the  years  went  on  poor  Bruin's  troubles  seemed 
to  grow.  Fortune  had  no  kindly  smile  for  him, 
and  try  as  he  might,  all  his  efforts  to  succeed 
were  in  vain. 

One  time  Bruin  left  his  home,  and  went 
strolling  through  the  woods.  He  was  all  alone, 
,  for  the  other  bears  had  gone  off  long  before,  but 
Bruin  had  not  been  wanted.  Sorrowfully  and 
lonely  he  trotted  along,  taking  no  heed  of  where 
he  was  going,  until  all  at  once  he  was  brought  to 
his  senses  by  a  sharp  click,  and  try  with  all  his 
might,  he  could  not  move.  You've  guessed  what 
had  happened — he  had  stumbled  into  a  trap,  and 
was  held  there  as  fast  as  fast  could  be.  The  hot 
sun  poured  dov/n  upon  him,  but  no  one  came  to 
release  him ;  but  at  last,  just  as  twilight  fell  upon 
the  world,  two  great  big  men  drove  up  in  a  cart, 
and  with  a  loud  shout  at  their  horses,  stopped 
62 


Unliappy  Bmin.  63 

in  front  of  Bniin.  'Tine  luck  we  liave  had  to- 
day," said  one  of  them.  "We  will  make  a  good 
thing  out  of  him/'  said  the  other.  Then,  as 
quick  as  a  wink,  a  big  black  bag  was  thro-^Ti 


jver  Bruin's  head,  and  he  was  hoisted  into  the 
wagon. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  poor  Bruin's  new 
life.  These  men  were  street  players — one  of 
them  brought  forth  squeaky  sounds  from  an  old 


64  Unhappy  Bruin. 

fiddle,  while  the  other  made  most  dismal  noises 
upon  the  harp. 

Bruin  was  taken  to  their  miserable  home,  and 
day  by  day  was  trained  to  dance  and  play  tricks 
to  amuse  the  people.  Bruin  found  it  was  wisest 
to  please  these  men,  for  cruel  blows  and  kicks 
rewarded  his  failures. 

One  day  they  rigged  him  up  in  a  suit  of 
clothes,  put  shoes  on  his  feet  and  a  hat  in  his 
hand,  and  led  him  out  to  dance  upon  the  street. 
All  day  long  he  kept  it  up,  and  when  night  came 
he  could  scarcely  move.  His  masters  had  gone 
to  join  some  friends  and  chat  with  them,  and 
had  left  Bruin  in  charge  of  a  boy.  The  boy 
grew  tired  of  being  alone,  and  seeing  a  chum, 
hurried  after  him,  leaving  Bruin  to  his  own  de- 
vices. Bruin  knew  his  chance  had  come,  and 
trotted  away  just  as  fast  as  ever  his  tired  feet 
would  carry  him.  He  wandered  on  and  on,  until 
at  last  the  woods  were  reached.  Then  he  lay 
down  under  a  tree,  nearly  worn  out,  but  very 
happy  he  felt  that  at  last  the  wheel  had  turned 
and  fortune  had  surely  smiled  on  him. 


The  Ostrich. 

Did  yo"  ever  think  anything  about  the  way  in 
which  we  jbtain  the  beautiful  feathers  that  help 
to  ornament  our  hats  and  bonnets '^  Away  off, 
in  a  country  called  Africa,  lives  a  bi^'d  known  as 
the  ostrich.  It  is  a  large  bird  with  long,  slender 
legs,  and  such  a  great  long  neck  that  it  is  as  tall 
as  a  very  tall  man.  IsTature  has  given  it  these 
long  legs  to  help  it  go  over  ground  very  rapidly. 
"When  pursued,  it  travels  across  the  sandy  plains 
where  it  lives  with  strides  that  carry  it  twenty- 
five  miles  an  hour.  The  ostrich  has  very  keen 
sight  and  sharp  hearing,  and  its  long  neck  aids 
it  in  seeing  great  distances. 

The  nest  where  the  mother  bird  lays  the  e^gs 
is  just  a  hollow  made  in  the  sand,  with  a  shallow 
border  all  around  it.  The  old  bird  sits  on  the 
eggs  and  keeps  them  warm  at  night,  but  the 
rays  of  the  hot  tropical  sun  do  the  work  in  the 
day-time.  These  eggs  are  very  large,  weighing 
from  two  to  three  pounds. 

The  baby  ostriches  are  very  pretty  birds.  They 
look  like  young  partridges,  only  they  are  many, 
many  times  larger  and  have  littlo  brist'ies  all 
over  them  mixed  with  down. 
6i 


66 


The  Ostricli. 


When  the  ostrich  is  about  a  year  and  a  half 
old  it  falls  a  vistim  to  the  hunter's  pursuit. 
There  are  a  number  of  ways  for  catching  them. 


Sometimes  the  hunter  clothes  himself  in  the 
»kin  of  the  bird,  and  imitates  its  motion  so  ex- 
actly that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  tell  the  sham 


King  lyco's  Resolve.  67 

from  the  real  bird.  Then,  when  he  is  within 
bow-shot  of  some  Tinluckj  bird,  his  arrow  pierces 
it,  and  it  falls  his  prey.  Sometimes  the  bird  is 
caught  with  a  lasso,  and  in  some  places  the 
hunter  mounts  on  horse-back  and  pursues  it  in 
that  way. 

Way  off  in  California  ihere  are  a  number  of 
ostrich  farms,  and  when  you  get  to  be  big,  per- 
haps you  will  be  able  to  go  there  and  see  them. 
But  the  very  next  time  you  go  to  the  Zoological 
Garden,  you  must  get  your  mammas  to  take  you 
to  see  these  wonderful  birds.  I  am  sure  you  will 
wonder  how  such  beautiful  feathers  can  come 
from  such  ugly  looking  birds. 


King  Leo's  Resolve. 

Mother  Nattiee  had  carpeted  the  earth  with 
a  covering  soft  and  brown  and  rustling.  Deep 
in  the  reds  and  yellows  she  had  dipped  her  paint 
brush,  and  the  trees  gleamed  in  their  grandeur 
like  a  Ifaming  forge.  The  squirrels  had  been 
busy  for  weeks  filling  their  store-houses  with  the 
nuts  that  would  serve  for  the  winter's  food,  and 


65  King  Leo's  Resolve* 

the  song  cf  the  birds  had  long  since  ceased,  iot 
far  away  they'd  flown,  seeking  a  warmer  homa 
All  the  woods  seemed  hushed  and  forsaken. 


Ws««...   ^4.  -V   T>    _  .„  .->l<>9i_ 


^ 


'King  Leo  nc*^*oed  all  this  as  he  paced  throngji 
the  forest  with  rt^tless  strides  this  antumn  daj. 
Things  had  gone  wrong  with  his  majesty,  and 


King  Leo's  Resolve,  69 

he  wondered  that  the  trees  should  glow  in  such 
brilliancy  when  all  else  seemed  dressed  in  som 
bre  colors.  "Why  must  nature/'  muttered  he, 
^Tiav-c  this  dash  of  brightness  in  her  adorning 
while  my  life  is  all  gloom  and  all  sadness?  Long 
have  I  reigned  in  the  forest  as  Eing  of  Beasts- 
Pve  held  sway  over  the  largest  of  them  all,  the 
tigers,  wolves  and  bears  have  trembled  at  my 
roar,  and  at  my  command  all  have  yielded.  'Now 
Vm  deserted.  Xo  longer  am  I  consulted  in 
affairs  of  wisdom.  It's  months  since  I  have  sai 
on  my  throne  of  holly  boughs.  I'm  forsaken 
and  alone.  Is  there  no  way  in  which  I  can  win 
them  again?  Must  all  my  life  be  thus,  sorrow 
and  g''oom?" 

He  sat  down  to  think,  and  as  he  thought,  his 
heart  grew  lighter,  and  something  ;ilmost  like 
a  smile  came  over  his  face.  ^'I'll  try  it,"  he  said 
to  himself,  as  he  rose  from  the  rock  on  which  he 
had  been  sitting  and  went  towards  home. 

And  this  was  what  King  Leo  had  been  think- 
ing: Have  I  ever  done  anything  to  make  them 
care  for  me?  They  crowned  me  their  king,  but 
all  my  reign  I  have  governed  through  fear. 
My  roars  were  as  mighty  as  the  thunder;  my 
will  was  hard  and  cruel.     Vot  a  trifling  offence 


^■' 


Mm 


The  Willful  Young  Gobbler.  71 

I  have  taken  their  lives,  and  now  I  am  reaping 
my  reward.  If  it  is  not  too  late,  I  will  begin 
again.  Love,  not  fear,  shall  be  my  motto  this 
time,  and  perhaps  some  day  my  life  will  be  full 
of  happiness,  instead  of  woe  and  misery. 

And  poor  King  Leo  did  begin  again,  and  al- 
though the  struggle  was  hard  and  the  time  of 
conquest  long,  he  did  prove  himself  victor  at 
last,  and  died  at  a  very  old  age,  loved  and  re- 
spected by  all  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  having 
proved  to  them  all  that  Love  hath  greater  power 
than  Fear. 


The  Willful  Young  Gobbler. 

Madame  Ttiekey  put  on  her  shawl  and  bonnet 
to  go  to  hunt  for  the  silliest  young  turkey  about 
the  place,  because  that  silly  young  turkey  was 
her  son.  He  had  been  gone  since  early  morning, 
and  what  had  kept  him  his  mother  could  not 
guess.  Mother  Turkey  and  her  young  offspring 
lived  on  a  great  big  farm,  and  had  been  a  very 
happy  pair,  but  Mother  Turkey  was  fi;rowing 
anxious.  The  fields  had  become  bare  and  yel- 
low, the  trees  stood  around  them  tall  and  leafless, 


74  The  Bears  and  the  Hive. 

But  old  heads  are  often  the  wisest,  and  had 
this  silly  young  gobbler  only  listened  to  his 
mother  he  might  still  be  strutting  around  the 
barnyard,  or  perhaps  wandering  through  the 
wheat  field,  picking  up  the  full,  ripe  grains  that 
he  loved  so  dearly.  The  farmer  one  day,  as  he 
sauntered  through  the  poultry-yard,  spied  this 
well-fed  gobbler,  and  decided  that  no  finer  bird 
than  he  could  be  found,  and  before  Mr.  Turkey 
had  time  to  run,  he  was  firm  in  the  farmer^s 
clutches,  and  before  many  minutes  his  life  was 
over.  What  a  foolish  bird  he  was,  and  how 
much  better  it  would  have  been  had  he  only 
listened  to  the  words  of  warning  from  his  good 
old  mother. 


The  Bears  and  the  Hive. 

Hug  and  Squeeze  were  two  fat  little  cubs, 
who  lived  with  their  grandmother.  Their 
mother  had  been  captured  in  a  trap  vrhen  they 
were  little,  tiny  bears,  and  Mother  Bruin  had 
taken  them  to  her  home  and  cared  for  them  ever 
since.  Such  times  as  she  had  with  them — they 
seemed  to  have  been  born  under  an  unlucky 


The  Bears  and  tlie  Hive. 


75 


star,  and  poor  old  Grandmother  Bruin  had  her 
hands  lull.  They  had  of  course  fallen  yictims 
to  the  measles,  and  next  to  the  whooping-cough, 
and  they  would  eat  so  many  sweets  that  the 
toothache  was  almost  a  daily  visitor.     Grand- 


mother Bruin  used  to  shake  her  poor  old  head 
until  her  stiffly  starched  cap  with  its  large  pur- 
ple bow  would  slip  away  off  over  her  ear.  She 
did  want  very  much  that  they  should  be  good 
little  bears,  and  she  would  talk  to  Hug  and 


74  The  Bears  and  the  Hive. 

But  old  heads  are  often  the  wisest,  and  had 
this  silly  young  gobbler  only  listened  to  his 
mother  he  might  still  be  strutting  around  the 
barnyard,  or  perhaps  wandering  through  the 
wheat  field,  picking  up  the  full,  ripe  grains  that 
he  loved  so  dearly.  The  farmer  one  day,  as  he 
sauntered  through  the  poultry-yard,  spied  this 
well-fed  gobbler,  and  decided  that  no  finer  bird 
than  he  could  be  found,  and  before  Mr.  Turkey 
had  time  to  run,  he  was  firm  in  the  farmer's 
clutches,  and  before  many  minutes  his  life  was 
over.  What  a  foolish  bird  he  was,  and  how 
much  better  it  would  have  been  had  he  only 
listened  to  the  words  of  warning  from  his  good 
old  mother. 


The  Bears  and  the  Hive. 

Hug  and  Squeeze  were  two  fat  little  cubs, 
who  lived  with  their  grandmother.  Their 
mother  had  been  captured  in  a  trap  vrhen  they 
were  little,  tiny  bears,  and  Mother  Bruin  had 
taken  them  to  her  home  and  cared  for  them  ever 
since.  Such  times  as  she  had  with  them — they 
seemed  to  have  been  born  under  an  unlucky 


The  Bears  and  the  Hive. 


75 


star,  and  poor  old  Grandmother  Bruin  had  her 
hands  lull.  They  had  of  course  fallen  victims 
to  the  measles,  and  next  to  the  whooping-cough, 
and  they  would  eat  so  many  sweets  that  the 
toothache  was  almost  a  daily  visitor.     Grand- 


mother Bruin  used  to  shake  her  poor  old  head 
until  her  stiffly  starched  cap  with  its  large  pur- 
ple bow  would  slip  away  off  over  her  ear.  vShe 
did  want  very  much  that  they  should  be  good 
little  bears,  and  she  would  talk  to  Hug  and 


76  The  Bears  and  the  Hive. 

Squeeze  so  earnestly  that  thev  would  promiso  to 
be  ever  so  much  better,  and  they  really  meant  it 
when  they  promised,  but  when  mischief  came 
into  their  heads,  like  a  good  many  littlj  bojB 
and  girls — tLey  forgot. 

Tommy  Jones  was  the  gardener's  son,  and 
Tommy  wanted  very  much  to  become  rich.  He 
had  been  given  some  money  one  day  in  the  fall 
for  gathering  chestnuts  for  his  master's  children. 
Tom  was  proud  to  have  money  of  his  own,  aud 
tried  and  tried  to  think  of  some  plan  to  make  ife 
more.  One  day,  as  he  passed  a  shop  window,  he 
saw  little  boxes  with  honey  in  them  for  sale; 
this  put  an  idea  into  Tommy's  head.  lie  would 
go  home,  build  some  hives,  and  when  spring 
came  get  a  swarm  of  bees,  and  then  he,  too, 
could  have  honey  to  sell.  Tommy  was  a  wise 
little  chap  to  settle  on  this  plan,  for  the  rosae 
grew  in  great  profusion,  the  lilies  and  honey- 
Euckle  made  rich  food  for  the  bees,  and  the 
buckwheat  fields  that  gleamed  so  white  and 
beautiful  had  sweetness  beyond  measure  for 
these  busy  little  food  gatherers. 

"Well,  spring  came,  and  Tommy  c.  med  with 
delight  upon  the  neatly  built  hives  that  were  to 
be  the  homes  of  the  honey  makers  and  the  source 


The  Bears  and  the  Hive.  7^ 

of  his  wealth.  Then  summer  came,  and  the 
work  went  bravely  on  until  die  cones  were 
dripping  with  the  store  of  golden  honej. 

I\  ow  Hug  and  Squeeze  had  been  growing  all 
this  while,  and  the  spirit  foi-  adventure  kept 
growing  with  them.  One  night  Grandmother 
Bruin  had  put  them  to  bed  and  bade  them  be 
good,  obedient  children.  They  lay  very  still  un- 
til their  grandmother  had  gone,  and  then,  as 
qmetly  as  mice  they  crept  out  of  bed  and  stole 
cautiously  away.  Through  the  wooils  thej 
scampered,  wild  vrith  joy  over  their  frccdonL 
The  road  reached,  they  could  not  make  up  their 
minds  where  to  go,  but  the  apples  in  the  gar- 
dener's yard  had  made  such  fine  balls  before  tha- 
they  deciilcvl  to  try  a  game  once  nioio.  0.7  they 
trotted,  reached  the  garden,  but  stopped  with 
wonder  when  they  saw  numbers  of  queer  loot- 
ing houses  standing  side  by  side.  They  Iiad 
never  seen  hives  before,  and  knew  nothing  a}yom, 
the  savage  little  creatures  that  lived  inside. 

''We  will  take  one  home,"  said  Hug,  "it  will 
he  fine  to  play  with." 

Ball  was  forgotten,  and  Hug  shouldered  the 
hive,  while  little  Squeeze  scampered  along  at  hii 
side.    But  they  had  not  gone  far  when  Hug  fell 


78 


The  Bears  and  the  Hive. 


a  sharp  pinch  on  his  ear,  then  one  on  his  arm, 

and  then  he  began  to  feel  as  though  he  was  being 
stabbed  all  over.  The  bees  were  not  long  in  find- 
ing out  Squeeze,  and  run  as  they  might,  the  cubs 
could  not  escape  their  tormentors. 


"Thej  are  in  the  box,"  said  Squeeze,  "throw 
it  away,  do." 

Hug  threw  away  the  box,  but  the  bees  still 
held  fast.  The  more  the  bears  tried  to  get  rid 
of  them  the  closer  they  clung,  and  the  deeper 
they  drove  their  stings.     What  a  dreadful  time 


The  Bears  and  the  Hive.  79 

thej  had  getting  rid  of  them,  and  what  pitiful 
sights  thej  were  when  thej  reached  home. 

Their  faces  were  so  swollen  that  it  was  hard 
to  tell  who  thej  were.  Their  ears  were  as  largt 
as  two,  and  their  poor  paws  were  smarting  as  if 
from  a  burm  Thej  were  almost  afraid  to  go 
home,  for  they  knew  thej  were  to  blame  for  all 
their  suffering,  but  they  felt  so  very  badlv  that 
thej  decided  thej  must  go  to  grandmother  for 
help.  For  little  bears  are  like  Httle  children; 
when  thej  get  hurt,  thej  alwajs  want  to  get 
home  right  awaj.  So  off  thej  trotted  as  fast  as 
possible,  and  grandmother  was  verj  kind  to  them 
in  their  trouble;  she  did  not  punish  them,  for  she 
thought  thej  had  been  well  rewarded  for  their 
disobedience  and  meddlesome  wajs,  but  as  she 
tucket  them  in  bed  once  more,  after  spreading 
mud  on  their  swollen  hands  and  faces,  she  leaned 
over  them  and  said:  ^^ill  jou  trj  to  let  this  be 
a  lesson,  and  listen  more  carefullj  hereafter  tc 
jour  old  grandmother's  advice?"  I  think  th^ 
little  bears  learned  a  lesson  which  lasted  them  all 
their  lives,  for  thej  lived  a  great  many  years  in 
their  old  home,  and  never  again  meddled  with 
what  did  not  belong  to  them. 


The  Fox's  Story. 

Iell  you  a  story,  little  chap?  Well,  wliat  do 
you  suppose  an  old  fellow  like  grandfather  can 
tell  to  please  you  and  Bushy?  It's  something 
that  happened  when  I  was  young,  you  want? 
Well,  let  me  think.  So  many  things  happened 
then,  for  grandfather  was  a  gay  young  fox.  I 
guess  I'll  tell  you  first  about  the  great  fox  hunt 
from  the  castle.  The  castle  stood  high  upon  a 
hill,  and  one  fine  day  the  lords  and  ladies  met 
there,  and  mounted  upon  their  beautiful  horses, 
started  through  the  forest,  the  hounds  dashing 
back  of  them,  in  front  of  them,  and  all  around 
them,  for  the  hounds  go  along  to  scent  the  fox, 
you  know.  I  was  young  then,  and  the  sight  was 
new  to  me,  and  very  dazzling,  and  although  I 
had  heard  of  the  danger,  I  liked  the  excitement 
and  noise.  It  was  a  beautiful  sight,  for  the  men 
wore  bright  scarlet  jackets,  which  the  dark 
dresses  of  the  ladies  made  look  still  brighter.  My 
curiosity  came  near  putting  an  end  to  me  that 
day,  for  I  watched  and  waited  almost  too  long, 
and  only  the  greatest  cunning  on  my  part  made 
the  hounds  lose  the  scent,  and  then  the  fun  was 
spoiled. 

80 


The  Fox*s  Story.  Si 

Tell  you  some  more?  I'll  give  you  some  ad- 
vice this  time.  Beware  of  traps,  Many  a  Laud- 
some,  brave  young  f oy  has  beer,  too  curious,  and 
has  poked  his  paw  into  some  queer  looking  ob 


ject  which  he  has  discovered,  only  to  have  his 
little  paw  caught,  and  has  so  lost  his  freedom 
forever. 

There  is  something  else  you  must  remember, 
and  it  is  to  have  lots  of  patience.  One  time,  when 


82  The  Fox's  Story. 

your  father  and  uncle  were  little  chaps,  I  took 
them  out  to  get  our  Thanksgiving  dinner.  I  had 
seen  some  fat,  young  turkeys  roosting  in  a  peai 
tree,  and  I  wanted  one  of  them  very  badly.   The 


moon  rose  early  that  night,  and  when  we  rea..*hed 
the  tree,  there  sat  five  as  pretty  birds  as  I  ever 
saw,  but  I  had  not  been  sharp  in  measuring  my 
distance,  and  they  were  far  beyond  our  reach. 


The  Fox's  Story.  83 

So  there  we  stood,  and  waited  and  waited,  not 
knowing  what  to  do.  ^Xet's  go  home,''  said  your 
father.  ''Xot  without  our  dinner,"  said  I.  "But 
we  can't  reach  them,''  he  replied.  "P^js,"  I 
said,  "we  can  wait,"  and  we  did  wait.  "We  hid 
back  of  the  barn  until  morning  dawned,  and 
when  the  turkeys  flew  down  to  hunt  for  some 
breakfast,  one  of  them  was  doubtless  very  much 
surprised  to  find  himself  stowed  away  in  a  bag 
preparatory  to  taking  a  ride  on  my  shoulder.  It 
was  patience  that  won  the  turkey,  boys,  for  had 
we  grown  tired  and  gone  away,  we  certainly 
would  have  lost  our  fine  dinner. 

The  farmer  is  no  friend  of  ours,  you  know, 
and  the  farmer  who  lived  at  Hillside  was  very 
hard  on  us.  He  and  his  boys  were  always  setting 
traps  to  capture  some  venturesome  fellow.  One 
day  during  harvest  time,  when  the  fields  were 
bright  with  golden  grain,  I  started  off  in  search 
of  something  to  eat.  I  crept  along  cautiously 
until  J  espied  a  duck  so  round  and  fat  that  it 
made  my  mouth  water  to  look  at  her.  I  tried  to 
plan  some  way  to  capture  her.  This  seemed  al- 
most impossible,  for  the  farmer  was  close  by, 
and  right  by  his  side  I  could  see  the  shining 
barrel  of  his  trusty  old  gun,  and  I  knew,  if  ho 


84  The  Fox's  Story. 

caught  Bight  of  me,  he  would  certaiwuv  \s}]l  me, 

But  the  temptation  was  so  great  that  I  ss-entureA 
doser  and  closer,  grabbed  the  duck,  stii-ffed  her 
into  the  bag;  and  scampered  away  across  the 
fielJs  as  fast  as  I  could  run.  It  is  not  wise  lo  be 
go  daring;  caution  is  always  better,  and  it  "^ma 
only  luck  that  saved  me  that  time. 


pV,  ^  y  ^^^ 

'^mb^^'^' 

^^ 

^mM 

■<^^ 

^  ^^ 

.^,.>^"^<:"^ 

1  want  you  to  be  brave,  boys,  but  I  v/ant  yo^ 
to  be  careful  as  well.  Don't  creep  too  far  iron? 
behind  the  tree  when  you  are  lying  in  wait  for 
Msl:y  young  rabbits.  They  are  as  sharp  and 
watchful  as  any  fox  I  ever  knew,  and  I  have 
kno^vn  a  great  many.  And  now  I  think  yo'i  have 
bad  stories  enough  for  one  day,  and  I  want  my 


The  Fox  Hunt.  85 

afternoon  nap.  I  picked  up  a  delicious  fat  goose 
this  morning,  and  if  you  are  good  bojs  you  can 
have  it  all  before  you  creep  into  your  piney  beda 
and  fall  asleep  to  dream  sweet  dreams  of  the 
jolly  times  that  are  in  store  for  all  happy  young 
foxes.  And  hero  Vv-e  see  them  fast  asleep  in  their 
beds  the  bones  of  the  goose  scattered  all  around. 


The  Fox  Hunt 

Little  Toby  Teottek  came  home  from  school 
on  Friday  night,  threw  his  books  on  the  very  top 
shelf  of  the  cupboard,  and  exclaimed,  "You  can 
rest  there,  my  friend,  for  two  whole  daya.  I 
have  seen  all  I  want  of  you  for  this  week,  and 
haven't  I  pegged  at  you  these  five  dc^ja  harder 
than  I  ever  did  in  all  my  life  ?" 

To  be  sure,  Toby  had  a  good  reason  for  hii< 
hard  work,  which,  of  course,  you  would  like  to 
know.  "While  Toby  was  finishing  his  bowl  of 
porridge  and  milk  at  breakfast  Monday  morning, 
his  big  brother  Bill  came  into  the  room.  "Toby," 
said  he,  "if  you'll  come  home  on  Friday  night, 
and  tell  me  you  are  head  of  your  class,  FIl  take 
yon  for  a  fox  hunt  on  Saturday." 


86 


The  Fox  Hunt. 


To  say  Tobj  was  pleased 
does  not  begin  to  express  his 
feelings;  lie  was  wild  with 
delight  "I'll  do  it,  Billy," 
said  he,  ^^jou  see  if  I  don't. 
I'll  work  day  and  night  be- 
fore I  will  miss  that  fox 
hunt"  Bill  chuckled  to  him- 
self to  see  little  Toby  so  wrapt 
up  in  his  studies.  "I  like  the 
youngster's  determination  at  any  rate,"  thought 
he.  Toby's  hard  work  gained  the  day,  and  he 
could  hardly  wait  until  Bill  came  home  to  tell 
him  he  had  kept  his  part  of  the  contract  Bill 
was  ready  to  do  his  part  also,  so  they  started 
from  home  the  next  morning,  followed  by  old 
Bowser,  the  dog.  Bill  carried  the  gun.  Toby 
would  have  liked  to  carry  one  also,  but  Bill 
thought  he  was  better  off  without  it.  The  woods 
where  the  fox  lived  was  some  little  distance  from 
the  boys'  home,  and  Toby  ran  along  by  Billy's 
side  chattering  as  merrily  as  a  magpie.  A  neigh- 
bor's dog,  seeing  old  Bowser,  joined  the  party, 
but  he  soon  grew  tired  and  left  them.  If  Bowser 
had  grown  old  he  had  not  forgotten  his  early 
training  as  a  hunter,  and  he  went  straight  to 


The  Fox  Hunt.  87 

work  to  discover  the  Tvhereabouta  of  Mr.  Fox. 
He  had  a  lively  chase,  here  and  there,  in  and 
around,  but  at  last  he  seemed  to  be  satisfied,  and 
Billj,  who  had  watched  him,  followed  carefully. 
It  was  just  outside  the  woods  that  Bowser  came 
upon  the  fox.  The  fox  saw  the  dog  at  about  the 
same  time  the  dog  saw  him.  "With  one  great 
leap  Mr.  Fox  bounded  over  the  fence,  Bowser 
after  him.  On  they  flew,  leaving  Bill  and  poor 
little  Toby  far  behind  them. 

Bowser  did  his  best,  and  just  as  he  thought  the 
fox  was  his,  the  sly  old  fellow  gave  one  swift 
turn,  darted  into  a  deep  hole  in  the  ground,  and 
left  poor  old  Bowser  looking  the  picture  of  sor- 
rowful defeat.  The  fox  was  lost,  but  Toby  still 
thought  he  had  never  known  such  sport  in  his 
life,  and  he  coaxed  his  brother  to  take  him  again 
the  next  week.  Bill  said  that  just  as  long  as 
Toby  would  stand  at  the  head  of  his  class  he 
would  take  him  every  Saturday. 


The  Ride  in  the  Balloon. 

Fourth  of  July  dawned  bright  and  smiling 
upon  tlie  little  village  of  Browmew.  Everj- 
wliere  the  flags  were  flying  in  honor  of  the  glad 


day  and  long  streamers  of  red,  white  and  blue 

bunting  floated  gaily  to  the  breeze.    Tho  young 

people,  roxised  from  their  slumbers  by  the  bang- 

88 


The  Ride  in  the  Balloon.  89 

big  of  the  cannon,  hurried  into  the  streets  to 

celebrate  this  glorious  day.  The  youths  had 
donned  their  Lest  suits,  and  all  the  happy  young 
girls  had  bedecked  themselves  in  the  most  charm- 
ing style.  Miss  Kitty  Stripe,  the  belle  of  the 
village,  won  the  admiration  of  all,  for  wli^ro 
could  one  find  a  sweetsr  creature  than  she?  Iler 
soft,  pretty  ears  were  tied  with  the  loveliest  pink 
ribbon,  and  the  waving  plume  in  her  hat  exactly 
matched  the  ribbon  in  color.  Quite  proud  Toxj 
Terry  felt  as  he  walked  by  her  side  that  fine 
morning. 

Fireworks  blazed  all  day.  It  is  true  that 
Spitzy  Yf  hite  burnt  all  the  hair  oi7  his  pretty 
little  face,  and  little  llattie  Gray  had  her  ear 
shot  oif  by  a  pistol,  but  they  did  not  mind  such 
little  accidents,  and  all  agreed  that  the  fireworks 
were  quite  a  success. 

The  great  event  of  the  day,  however,  was  to 
be  the  balloon  ascension.  l^Tever  had  such  an 
event  been  heard  of  in  Browmew.  All  the  folks 
turned  out  to  see  it.  Old  Tortoise  Shell  came, 
although  he  was  as  blind  as  a  bat,  for  he  declared 
that  it  made  him  feel  young  again  to  hear  the 
cheering.  Foxy  Terry  and  Kitty  Stripe  had 
agreed  to  t^ike  the  ride.    About  four  o'clock  the 


9«> 


The  Ride  in  the  Balloon. 


balloon  was  brought  out,  and  ere  long  all  was  in 
readiness,  and  they  had  stepped  into  the  basket 


The  Ride  in  the  Balloon,  91 

and  were  rising  from  the  earth.  Cheer  after 
cheer  went  up  as  they  left  the  ground.  Up,  up 
they  sailed.  Over  roofs  and  steeples  they  rose, 
until  it  seemed  to  the  crowd  below  that  they 
would  never  stop.  They  rose  so  high  that  the 
ropes  got  tangled  on  the  horn  of  the  moon, 
which  they  had  not  been  able  to  avoid,  since 
they  could  not  see  it  on  account  of  the  bright 
sunshine.  Poor  Pussy  was  greatly  terrified,  but 
brave  Foxy  bids  her  be  patient,  and  he  will  set 
matters  right.  He  soon  manages  to  get  the  bal- 
loon free,  and  slowly  they  begin  to  descend.  The 
ride  is  a  short  one,  but  it  satisfies  Miss  Kitty,  and 
she  is  glad  to  come  down.  When  they  reach  the 
ground;  they  are  greeted  with  outstretched  arms 
and  praised  for  their  bravery.  So  the  day  ends 
amid  general  rejoicing,  and  at  a  late  hour  all  the 
sleepy  young  folks  crawl  into  bed  to  dream  of 
the  sports  of  the  day,  and  to  look  forward  ^vith 
pleasure  to  the  next  year,  when  they  should  be 
able  to  have  another  good  time  together  on  the 
green. 


Lessons  for  Young  Foxles. 

Mks,  Ruby  Bdsh  was  really  a  very  handsome 
young  fox — the  handsomest  in  the  whole  neigh- 
borhood, so  it  was  said,  and  they  said,  too,  how 
good  and  gentle  she  was,  which  was  lots  better 


than  being  called  beautiful,  for  kindness  goes  a 
great  deal  farther  than  good  loolis. 

She  and  her  husband  and  her  two  little  ones 
lived  in  the  "Tall  Tree"  forest  as  happy  and  lov- 
ing a  family  as  the  sun  ever  shone  upon.  The 
two  little  foxes,  Vic  and  Yira,  played  together 

all  day.  They  had  the  finest  games  of  hide  and  go 
97 


Lessons  for  Young  Foxies.  93 

seek,  the  great  holes  in  the  trunk  of  the  old  oak 
tree  making  the  joUiest  kind  of  hiding  places. 
They  pulled  the  tiny  flowers  that  grew  in  the 
woods,  and  made  \vreaths  and  bouquets  to  cany 
home  to  Mother  Bush.  Life  was  just  one  long 
play  day  to  them.  Ruby  Bush  was  a  good  little 
mother,  and  she  wanted  to  see  her  boys  well 
brought  up,  BO  the  time  came  when  she  thought 
it  best  to  give  them  a  lesson  in  hunting. 

The  moon  was  new,  but  the  night  was  clear 
and  the  stars  twinkled  brightly.  Yic  had  hia 
turn  first,  and  he  and  his  mother  started  off  to 
the  nearest  poultry  yard,  each  carrying  a  long 
white  bag. 

The  turkeys  were  roosting  on  the  top  of  a  rail 
fence,  not  dreaming  of  any  danger,  and  Mother 
Fox  and  Vic  had  little  trouble  to  fill  their  baga. 
Yic  was  much  pleased  over  his  success,  and 
thought  it  almost  as  much  fun  as  playing  with 
Yim. 

Father  Bush  had  seen  a  trap  in  the  forest,  and 
had  told  his  wife  about  it.  ^TSTow,'^  thought  she, 
ia  the  time  to  teach  my  boys  of  the  danger  of 
traps."  So,  when  tlie  boys  started  off  to  play, 
ais  usual,  she  called  them  back,  telling  them  she 
wanted  them  to  go  with  her  as  she  had  some- 


94  I<essons  for  Young  Foxies. 

thing  to  show  them.  The  trap  was  near  their 
home,  and  the  boys  gazed  in  wonder  at  this 
strange  object^  and  listened  with  interest  to  the 


tales  their  mother  told  of  its  great  dangers.  A 
delicious  piece  of  meat  had  been  used  for  bait, 
and  Yic  and  Yim  and  Mother  Bush,  too,  wished 


The  Hunter  Treed.  95 

they  might  have  it.  To  wish  meant  to  try  with 
Mother  Bush,  so  she  got  a  long  stick,  and  telling 
her  boys  to  keep  away,  carefully  pried  open  the 
trap  and  drew  out  the  treasure.  l^Tiat  a  fine 
time  they  had  eating  it  and  wishing  they  could 
find  another! 


The  Hunter  Treed. 

For  two  or  three  weeks  old  Jack  Frost  had 
been  at  work  in  the  forest,  pinching  the  leaves 
from  the  trees,  and  sending  the  ripe  nuts  to  the 
ground.     Great  piles  of  leaves,  that  JSTature's 


kjtist  had  painted  brown  and  red,  gold  and  crim- 
son, lay  on  the  ground,  making  a  soft,  thick  car- 
pet for  the  dwellers  of  the  forest 

In  this  forest,  the  Bear,  the  Wolf  and  the  Fox 
lived,  and  three  greater  cronies  you  never  heard 


96  The  Hunter  Treed. 

of.  The  Bear  was  the  oldest  and  the  bigges^ 
but  little  Foxy  always  led  the  fun,  for  he  was 
one  of  tho  brightest,  smartest  little  chaps  that 
ever  dwelt  in  the  forest     Through  the  fallen 


*);.^3'|P^ 


^     ^- 


leaves  he  came  tramping  one  day  to  the  house 
of  neighbor  Bear,  and  with  his  usual  cheery 
"How-do-you-do?"  greeted  his  friend.  He  had 
heard  tliat  much  mischief  was  being  done  by  a 


The  Hunter  Trc  "^d.  97 

cruel;  iiard-liearted  liiiiiter,  and  lie  wanted  the 
Bear  and  their  friend,  the  Wolf,  go  with  him 
and  try  to  put  an  end  to  the  hunter's  fun.  They 
went  to  the  Wolf's  house,  and  found  him  willing 
to  help,  so  side  by  side  they  started  through  the 
woods.  E'othing  happened  for  some  time,  but 
finally  the  sharp  ears  of  little  Foxy  heard  the 
sound  of  a  gun  in  the  distance.  Bidding  his 
friends  be  quiet,  he  waited  until  it  sounded 
again.  This  time  Foxy  learned  the  direction 
from  which  it  came,  and  they  hurried  on  toward 
the  spot.  Bang,  bang,  bang!  The  gun  kept 
sounding  louder  and  louder  as  they  sped  along. 
'Now  a  new  noise  greeted  their  ears.  It  sounded 
like  the  chattering  of  many  voices,  and  as  they 
turned  the  comer  they  came  upon  a  strange 
sight.  U]3  in  the  tree  that  bore  but  one  branch 
and  must  at  one  time  have  been  struck  by  light- 
ning, hung  tho  cruel  hunter,  while  below  him 
on  the  gTound  danced  and  played  a  greedy  crowd 
of  wolves.  One  had  his  empty  gun,  two  more 
were  fighting  for  his  hat,  and  the  rest  stood 
barking  at  the  hunter  in  the  wildest  manner. 
The  three  cronies  were  too  late  to  carry  out  their 
scheme^  but  they  laughed  merrily  over  the  vic- 
tory of  the  others,  and  they  were  greatly  pleased 


98 


The  Hunter  Treed. 


that  at  last  they  were  to  be  set  free  from  the 
danger  in  which  they  had  been  so  long,  and 


could  now  roam  over  the  forest  at  their  pleasure 
without  fear  of  being  killed  by  the  hunter's  gun. 
The  poor  fellow  in  the  tree  was  in  a  very  un- 


The  Lost  Dinner.  99 

coriii'OitaHe  position,  as  we  can  well  see,  and  lie 
was  in  cor^tant  fear  lest  the  wolves,  in  some 
"vraj,  might  be  able  to  reach  him.  He  sav/  no 
waj  in  which  he  could  escape,  and  felt  sure  that 
Lis  time  to  die  had  at  last  come.  He  hoped  the 
"Wolves  would  be  attracted  by  something  else,  and 
go  away  and  leave  him,  but  that  seemed  to  be 
almost  too  good  a  fortune.  The  wolves  kept  the 
poor  man  in  the  tree  until  they  heard  the  sound 
of  approaching  footsteps  and  caught  the  sounds 
of  frequently  fired  guns;  then  they  all  scampered 
away  as  fast  as  possible,  and  then  the  poor  man 
was  rescued  by  his  friends,  who  had  come  in 
search  of  him. 

The  tlireo  friends  were  very  much  disap- 
pointed when  their  Adctim  escaped,  but  they 
Loped  he  would  be  so  badly  frightened  that  he 
would,  in  the  future,  keep  away  from  the  forest, 
and  so  far  as  we  know  he  never  troubled  them 
again. 

The  Lost  Dinner. 

"Come,  my  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Fox,  as  she 
pinned  her  plaid  shawl  around  her  shoulders  and 
tied  on  her  bonnet  that  was  trimmed  vdth  one 


loo 


The  Lost  Dinner. 


of  the  sun-flowers  she  had  gathered  from  the 
kitchen  garden  that  morning,  "if  you'll  be  a  very 


The  Lost  Dinner.  oi 

good  little  boy,  and  promise  not  to  get  in  tiie 
way,  you  may  go  to  market  with  me.  I  have 
noticed  for  several  evenings  past  that  a  fat  young 
gobbler  roosts  on  the  fence  that  is  built  along 
the  road.  This  is  too  good  a  prize  to  lose,  my 
dear,  and  he  shall  be  mine  to-night.  If  I  am 
not  as  young  as  I  used  to  be,  I  have  not  forgotten 
the  art  of  bagging  game,  and  it  will  be  well  for 
you,  my  child,  if  you  keep  your  eyes  open  and 
try  to  profit  by  my  example.'' 

"Indeed,  mother,"  said  young  Rufus,"  you 
will  find  me  just  as  good  as  can  be,  and  I  am 
sure  no  one  could  be  a  better  teacher  than  you, 
for  well  I  remember  the  good  dinners  you  have 
brought  home  from  the  farm-yard." 

The  roadside  and  the  rail  fence  were  soon 
gained,  and  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it, 
Mr.  Gobbler  had  found  a  place  inside  Mother 
Fox's  basket,  and  the  lid  was  shut  down  tight 

'^Oh  dear  me!"  thought  the  poor  turkey,  "why 
was  I  so  foolish  as  to  roost  on  that  rail  fence? 
If  I  had  only  listened  to  my  mother's  warning, 
what  a  happy  turkey  I  might  still  be;  but  I 
thought  I  was  old  enough  and  smart  enough  to 
take  care  of  myself.  If  I  could  only  get  out  I'd 
be  so  careful  hereafter."    But  the  lid  was  shut 


I02 


The  Lost  Dinner. 


down  tight,  and  there  seemed  no  chance  for  the 
gobbler. 


The  Lost  Dinner.  lo^ 

Mother  Fox  and  Rufus  chatted  merrily  as 
they  trotted  along,  and  when  they  came  to  the 
rail  fence  along  the  edge  of  the  woods,  Rufus 
begged  they  might  stop  and  rest  awhile,  for  the 
sharp  stones  had  hurt  his  feet. 

Up  they  scrambled,  and  seated  themselves 
quite  happily,  and  Rufus  laughed  merrily  as  his 
mother  told  him  of  the  many  times  she  had 
escaped  the  hunter's  dogs,  and  he  listened  with 
a  very  grave  face  as  she  talked  to  him  of  the 
traps  and  snares  the  farmers  set  to  catch  the  fox 
who  was  foolish  enoi^gh  to  go  near  them. 

Mother  Fox  became  so  interested  in  her  lesson 
that  she  quite  forgot  the  turkey  in  the  basket, 
but  all  of  a  sudden  he  gave  one  frantic  lurch, 
and  over  went  Mother  Fox's  basket  and  its  pre- 
cious contents.  Mother  Fox  was  quick,  but  the 
gobbler  was  quicker — out  of  the  basket  he 
popped  under  the  fence,  and  away  he  hurried  as 
fast  as  his  legs  could  carry  him.  After  him  came 
the  fox;  nearer  and  nearer  she  came,  so  close 
now  that  she  grabbed  his  tail  feathers,  but  they 
yielded  to  her  clutch,  and  the  turkey  hurried 
on.  On,  on  he  went,  until  at  last,  with  one 
mighty  effort,  one  tremenduoii3  flapping  of 
wings,  he  reached  the  wagon-house  roof,  tremb- 


I04  The  New  Spring  Suit. 

ling  and  exhausted,  but  having  left  the  fox  be- 
low. 

This  was  a  hard  lesson  for  the  gobbler,  but  it 
was  a  good  one,  and  never  again  did  anv  one 
hear  of  that  turkey  roosting  on  a  fence  rail.  He 
did  not  wish  to  run  any  more  chances  of  getting 
lato  the  clutches  of  the  wily  old  fox. 


The  New  Spring  Suit. 

Speixg  had  come  again.  Spring,  warm  and 
gentle — not  March  with  its  howling  winds  pinch- 
ing your  noses  and  lingers  and  toes,  and  bidding 
the  big  round  tears  to  chase  each  other  down 
your  poor  little  faces.  The  warm  April  showers 
told  that  spring  had  come.  As  the  rain  pattered 
down  upon  the  earth,  softening  the  hard  crust  of 
winter,  up  popped  the  little  faces  of  the  snow- 
drop and  daffodils,  crocuses  opened  their  eyes  to 
the  bright  golden  sun,  and  the  tulips  put  on 
their  robes  of  crimson  and  yellow  to  tell  of 
spring's  arrival. 

While  nature  was  putting  on  her  new  and 
beautiful  apparel,  Mr.  Kufus  Cunning  began  U 


io6  The  New  Spring  Suit. 

open  his  eyes  and  wonder  if  it  was  not  about 
time  for  liim  to  think  of  his  spring  costume. 

ISTow  one  of  Rufus'  great  failings  was  his  love 
for  dress.  It  is  a  fact,  though  a  very  sorry  one, 
that  nearly  all  his  time  and  thoughts  were  spent 
in  planning  what  would  be  the  most  becoming 
style  of  clothing. 

Off  he  started  one  fine  morning  to  fit  himself 
out  with  a  rig  most  charming.  First  of  all  he 
visited  the  tailor  and  bought  of  him  a  suit  which 
he  considered  quite  a  beauty.  His  linen  was  the 
next  purchase,  and  the  collar  he  chose  was  so 
high  that  one  would  pity  him,  did  he  not  think 
him  so  very  foolish  to  suffer  thus  for  show.  But 
people  who  are  older  and  wiser  than  this  gay 
young  fox  do  just  such  silly  things. 

His  next  stop  was  at  the  boot-maker's.  Mr. 
Shoemaker  never  in  all  his  life  found  anybody 
so  hard  to  please^  but  at  last  a  pair  was  found  to 
suit  him,  and  then  a  hat  must  be  gotten.  Hat 
after  hat  was  tried  on,  but  by  and  by  a  hat,  tall 
and  black  and  shiny,  met  Foxy's  view,  and  his 
eyes  danced  wilh  pleasure  as  he  gazed  at  himself 
in  the  mirror.  Now  all  was  complete  except  the 
gloves — these  were  not  hard  to  find,  and  then  he 
started  for  home.     You  should  have  seen  this 


The  New  Spring  Suit.  107 

vain  young  creature  as  lie  walked  along  tlie  street 
— everytliing  complete,  from  the  crown  of  his 
head  to  the  soles  of  hLs  feet — not  even  the  walk- 
ing-stick, nor  the  eje-glass  had  been  forgotten. 
If  no  one  admired  his  fine  appearance,  Foxy  was 
happy  in  the  entire  satisfaction  he  felt  in  himself. 
But  alas,  alas!  he  had  just  taken  his  friend, 
Miss  Bruin,  out  for  a  little  stroll,  when  the  worst 
shower  of  the  whole  season  came  up.  You 
should  have  seen  them  run,  when  thft  first  large 
drops  came  pattering  down.  There  seemed  to 
be  no  shelter  near  at  hand,  and  they  were  getting 
pretty  wet,  when  !^Iiss  Bruin  spied  some  old 
friends  gathered  under  an  old  umbrella,  which 
little  rioy,  the  pet  of  the  household,  had  left  in 
the  woods  the  day  before.  So  Foxy  and  she 
made  a  dash  for  this  refuge  and  reached  it  just 
as  the  rain  began  to  pour  down  in  torrents.  The;^' 
were  pretty  well  crowded,  but  they  were  yery 
thankfiil  to  have  even  that  much  protection,  and 
they  really  enjoyed  themselves  chatting  with 
their  friends.  The  shower  lasted  only  a  few 
minutes,  and  when  it  was  over  they  started  foi 
home,  as  it  was  too  wet  to  go  farther  and  Fox;^ 
was  very  much  worried  over  his  new  rig,  which 
was  nearly  ruined. 


Monkey  Jack. 

Uncle  Mac  had  been  away  for  years  in  South 
America,  mother  told  us  children,  and  South 
America  became  the  extent  of  travel,  the  most 
remote   corner   of   the   world,   to   our   childish 


minds.  How  we  listened  with  the  keenest  in- 
terest to  the  occasional  letters  which  arrived,  and 
how  we  wondered  what  this  far-away  uncle  was 
like,  for  Rob  and  I  were  but  babies  when  he 
went  away.     One  night,  I  can  remember  it  just 

lo8 


Monkey  Jack.  2G^ 

perfectly,  although  I  was  only  a  mite  of  a  girl, 
we  were  gathered  around  the  open  fire  in  the 
library,  for  the  September  nights  were  chilly, 
when  the  maid  announced  a  gentleman  in  the 
parlor.  He  gave  no  name,  but  said  he  knew  he 
would  be  welcome.  Mother  left  us,  but  in  al- 
most no  time  we  heard  her  calling,  ^'Children, 
children,  come  quickly,  your  Uncle  Mac  is 
home!"  Rob  and  I  pranced  down  like  little 
ponies,  ajrd  were  almost  smothered  in  this  big 
uncle's  arms.  After  the  first  welcome  had  been 
given,  ur>cle  asked  if  he  might  bring  in  his 
travelitt^^'  companion,  for  he  was  sure  he  must 
be  tired  of  being  alone  so  long.  We  children 
wondered  why  the  poor  traveler  had  been  left  in 
the  hall,  but  all  wonderment  was  dispelled  when 
a  sleepy,  sorrowful  looking  monkey  appeared  in 
uncle's  arms.  Oh!  how  wild  Rob  was  with  de- 
light. I  was  rather  timid  and  kept  at  a  distance. 
Before  Rob  had  finished  admiring  this  funny 
little  chap,  jSTan,  the  nurse,  came  to  take  him  off 
to  bed.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  Rob  was  not  a 
bit  good,  but  screamed  dreadfully,  until  uncle 
told  him  that  if  he  would  stop  crying.  Jack,  as 
he  called  the  monkey,  might  sleep  in  his  room. 
Mother  shook  her  finger  reprovingly  at  Uncle 


rI 


Monkey  Jack.  1 1 1 

Mac,  but  I  heard  liim  wliisper  that  he  must  be 
humored  his  first  night  at  home.  I  followed 
Rob  and  Xan,  and  how  I  did  laugh  when  I  saw 
Jack  lie  down  on  the  quilt  Xan  put  in  the  comer, 
and  nestle  his  head  down  on  his  hand.  Such  a 
poor,  sleepy  monkey  as  he  was! 

But  this  state  of  serenity  was  not  to  last  long. 
Early  in  the  morning,  before  daybreak,  Xan  was 
wakened  by  a  tremendous  clatter,  and  jumped 
up  to  find  that  Master  Jack  had  stripped  the 
walls  of  pictures,  and  was  preparing  to  divest 
the  bureau  of  any  ornaments.  Xan  captured 
him  and  tied  him  to  the  foot-board  of  the  bed; 
but  just  as  her  sleepy  eyes  had  closed  for  a  good, 
long  nap,  a  scream  from  Rob  aroused  her,  and 
she  found  that  naughty  monkey  amusing  him- 
self by  vigorously  pulling  Kob's  hair.  "Xo  more 
peace  for  me,"  thought  Xan,  so  she  dressed  as 
quickly  as  possible,  and  carried  Jack  down  into 
tlie  garden. 

How  soon  we  grew  attached  to  the  little  fel- 
low, for  he  was  so  bright  and  full  of  cunning 
tricks.  It  was  very  amusini2:  to  watch  liim  take 
his  funny  little  hands  and  with  his  thumb  and 
middle  finger  knock  the  ashes  from  Uncle  Mac's 
cigar.     He  was  very  fond  of  hard  boiled  eggs, 


112  Monkey  Jack. 

and  if  we  gave  one  to  him  hot,  lie  would  throw 
it  from  hand  to  hand  until  it  became  cool,  and 
then  with  his  clever  little  fingers  he  would  re- 
move the  shell  just  as  daintily  as  possible.  An- 
other favorite  dish  of  his  was  red  raspberries; 


black  he  would  not  touch.  One  day  the  cook 
gave  him  some  red  berries  in  a  china  saucer,  and 
deteiTained  to  keep  her  eyes  upon  him,  as  he 
had  no  regard  for  crockery.  Something  de- 
manded her  attention,  and  she  forgot  the  mon- 


The  Meeting  on  the  Bridge.  115 

key  until  a  gentle  tap  on  the  step  attracted  her 
attention,  and  there  stood  Jack,  holding  his  plate 
towards  her  for  more. 

We  kept  Jack  for  several  years;  but  one  time, 
while  we  were  away  in  the  country,  the  poor 
little  fellow  met  with  an  accident  that  caused  his 
death.  Rob  grieved  very  much  after  his  queer 
play-fellow,  and  declared  that  he  could  never 
again  love  an  animal  as  he  did  that  monkey.  I 
guess  we  all  felt  sad  over  his  loss,  for  we  liked 
the  cunning  chap  and  missed  his  cute  and  funny 
capers. 


The  Meeting  on  the  Bridge. 

If  you'll  go  through  the  woods  for  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  and  then  turn  to  the  right,  you 
will  find  a  bridge,  which  is  formed  from  rocks 
against  which  the  waters  trickled  untiringly  year 
after  year,  until  quite  an  opening  was  made,  and 
now  the  little  stream  flows  on  day  after  day,  sing- 
ing its  low,  sweet  song.  If  you'll  follow  this 
tiny  si  am  you  will  see  it  growing  broader  and 
broader,  until  at  last  it  becomes  a  large  and 


1 14  The  Meeting  on  the  Bridge. 

beautiful  river.  But  our  storj  is  about  the 
bridge  over  the  little  stream,  and  what  happened 
ihere. 

One  morning  the  elephant  dressed  himself  in 
his  very  best,  put  on  his  tall  white  hat,  took  his 
stick  in  his  hand,  and  started  through  the  woods 
to  visit  his  friend,  the  giraffe.  He  took  his  time, 
for  the  day  was  warm,  and  he  liked  to  listen  to 
the  birds  and  watch  the  gentle  rustle  of  the 
leaves  as  the  soft  wind  shook  them. 

He  was  surprised  when  he  looked  at  the  sun 
and  found  that  the  morning  was  fast  drawing  to 
a  close.  He  walked  on  much  faster  than  was 
comfortable,  and  his  temper  was  not  the  sweetest 
when  he  came  to  the  bridge  and  found  the  don- 
key standing  on  it  watching  the  waters  flow  over 
the  rocks. 

"Move  on,  my  friend,'^  said  the  elephant,  "this 
is  no  place  for  halting.''  But  the  donkey  was 
not  pleased  to  be  spoken  to  in  this  manner,  and 
he  made  no  effort  to  move.  On  the  bridge 
stepped  the  elephant,  but  still  the  donkey  did 
not  stir. 

"Perhaps  you  did  not  hear  me,"  said  the  ele- 
phant.    "I  told  you  to  move  on." 

"Quite  plainly  I  heard  you,"  replied  the  don^ 


ii6  The  Meeting  on  the  Bridge. 

key,  *^mt  it  does  not  please  me  to  stir  from  tliis 
spot." 

Both  the  elephant  and  the  donkey  were  grow- 
ing angrier  every  minute.  At  last  the  elephant, 
who,  of  course,  was  lots  the  larger,  picked  up  the 
donkey  with  his  trunk,  and  dipped  him  up  and 
down  in  the  cool  stream  until  he  cried  for  mercy. 
If  the  sun  was  hot,  the  water  was  cool,  and  thia 
sndden  plunge  was  certainly  not  to  the  donkey's 
liking,  and  his  wild  struggles  afforded  the  ele- 
phant much  amusement.  As  he  stepped  back, 
laughing  at  the  donkey's  frantic  efforts,  his  foot 
slipped,  and  over  he  went,  splash,  into  the  water. 
The  water  vv^as  not  very  deep,  and  they  soon 
scrambled  to  the  shore,  but  both  had  learned  a 
lesson,  and  before  parting  they  decided  that  the 
better  plan  was  to  yield  to  one  another.  Had  the 
elephant  spoken  in  a  kindly  manner,  and  had  the 
donkey  been  more  accommodating,  each  might 
have  escaped  a  most  unpleasant  experience. 

The  elephant's  bath  had  left  him  in  no  condi- 
tion for  calling,  and  his  tall  white  hat  he  prized 
80  much  had  gone  floating  down  the  stream,  but 
he  did  not  grumble,  for  he  knew  the  fault  was 
his  own.  He  felt  that  he  might  have  avoided 
this  very  unpleasant  ending  to  the  happy  time 


The  Runaway  Pair.  ny 

lie  had  had  in  progpect,  if  he  had  onl>  remem- 
hered  to  be  a  little  more  polite.  As  he  journeyed 
through  the  woods  once  more  he  was  a  wise  ele- 
phant, if,  as  my  be  imagined,  a  sadder  one. 


The  Runaway  Pair. 

1.ITTLE  Rhody  Gray  was  trembling  like  a  leaf 
> — not  because  Jack  Frost  was  teasing  her  ratship^^ 
no  indeed.  The  grass  was  green,  and  the  beauti- 
ful little  wild  flowers  held  up  their  heads  to  aay 
"good-night"  before  they  closed  their  drowsy 
eyes.  The  air  was  soft  and  balmy,  whispering 
secrets,  low  and  sweet,  as  it  stole  quietly  in  and 
out  through  the  tree  tops.  But  Rhody  was 
trembling,  and  it  was  fear  that  made  her,  for  she 
was  sure  some  one  would  see  her,  crouching 
down  behind  the  lilac  bush  at  the  end  of  the 
garden. 

How  bright  the  moon  was  growing.  Rhody 
thought  she  had  never  seen  it  so  dazzlingly  large 
before.  It  seemed  as  though  it  were  looking 
right  down  upon  her,  showing  every  one  where 
the  timid  little  rat  was  hiding.  IsTow  Rhody  was 
waiting  for  some  one — and  this  some  one  was 


Ii8 


The  Runaway  Pair. 


Jacky  Leap — just  the  handsomest,  largest  frog 
in  the  whole  pond. 

He  and  Rhody  had  planned  to  leave  the  old 
place  that  night  and  go  off  and  be  married. 


They  were  both  young  and  wilful  lovers,  and 
because  Mother  Gray  had  said  no  when  Jack 
asked  for  Ehody,  they  had  made  up  their  minds 
to  have  their  own  way,  come  what  would.  Now 
then,  do  you  wonder  that  Rhody  was  frightened? 
It  was  growing  so  late  that  she  felt  sure  Jack 
had  forgotten  her,  and  her  little  heart  went 
thump ty-bang!  until  she  was  certain  some  one 


The  Runaway  Pair.  1 19 

votild  hear  it.  Poor  foolish  Khody,  it  only 
sounded  so  loud  to  her  ears.  But  at  last  she 
caught  sight  of  some  gleaming  white  object  al- 
most flying  towards  her,  and  what  should  it  be 
but  the  white  rabbit  that  had  been  bought  at 
Easter  for  the  baby  at  the  house.  Jack  had  told 
Bun  of  their  plans,  and  he  had  promised  to  help 
them — and  he  certainly  did.  Jack  was  seated 
on  his  back,  such  a  big,  broad,  furry  back,  and 
Rhody  was  soon  mounted  behind  her  lover. 
How  they  flew  along!  Fences  and  trees  seemed 
to  dash  past  them.  Poor  little  frightened 
Rhody  held  on  with  all  her  might,  fearing  every 
minute  that  she  might  slip  off  and  be  left  behind, 
until  at  last  they  came  to  the  hollow  tree  where 
the  wise  old  owl  lived. 

He  blinked  at  them  through  his  spectacles,  but 
asked  no  questions,  and  in  less  than  no  time 
Rhody  was  Mrs.  Leap.  Bun  was  waiting  for 
them,  and  they  mounted  once  more  and  started 
for  home.  It  was  hard  to  tell  Mother  Gray  what 
they  had  done — but  she  was  a  kind  old  rat,  and 
concluded  that  the  only  way  was  to  make  the 
best  of  things,  so  she  gave  them  her  blessings, 
and  Jack  and  his  little  wife  Rhody  were  as 
happy  a  couple  as  lived  in  the  Gree^. 


Chanty's  Lesson. 


"Cock  a  doodle  doo!"  shrilly  crowed  Mr. 
Ciianticleer  as  he  strutted  around  in  the  barn- 
yard. Chanty  had  just  learned  to  crow,  and  he 
was  as  proud  as  any  rooster  could  be  over  his 
own  voice.     He  was  not  a  very  beautiful  bird, 


for  his  tail  featliers  had  just  commenced  to  grow, 
and  his  legs  were  so  long  and  thin  you  wanted 
to  laugh  at  him,  if  that  had  not  been  the  rudest 
thing  you  could  possibly  do.    But  still,  one  could 


Chanty's  Lesson.  121 

not  help  thinking  him  a  very  foolish  fellow  as 
he  watched  him  strutting  around,  as  though  he 
owned  the  barnyard.  But  grief,  you  know  some- 
times comes  to  people  who  think  themselves  so 
far  above  their  neighbors;  so  listen  to  the  narrow 
escape  that  Chanty  had  one  summer  evening. 

Down  in  the  woods,  not  far  away  from  the 
home  of  Chanty,  lived  a  smart  red  fox;  he  was 
young  and  called  a  very  handsome  fellow,  and 
old  Mother  Fox  smiled  with  approval  when  she 
aaw  her  son  going  off  rigged  in  his  finest  suit,  his 
hat  perched  on  one  side,  Vvdth  a  turkey  feather 
sticking  in  it,  and  his  sharp  pointed  knife  shin- 
ing in  his  belt. 

One  night  this  young  fox  bade  good-bye  to 
his  mother,  gathered  up  the  bag  that  always 
hung  back  of  the  door,  and  started  off  towards 
the  farm-yard.  You  can  guess  his  purpose,  per- 
haps— Chanty's  shrill  crow  had  reached  his  ears, 
and  he  made  up  his  mind  in  an  instant  that  he 
would  like  the  rooster  in  a  pot-pie  much  better 
than  strutting  around  the  barnyard. 

Fate  had  been  kind  to  Chanty  this  time,  and 
when  Master  Fox  reached  the  place,  all  he  could 
see  of  the  rooster  was  his  tail  feathers  sticking 
through  the  stable  door,  and  the  farmer's  man 


122  Fido,  the  Shepherd  Dog. 

had  made  the  door  fast  with  lock  and  key.  The 
fox  grabbed  the  tail  feathers,  but  Chanty  was 
safe,  though  woefully  frightened,  and,  we  hope, 
wiser,  content  to  go  his  way  through  life  with- 
out making  himself  so  evident 


Fido,  the  Shepherd  Dog. 

PiDO  was  a  tiny  black  pup  when  he  came  to 
live  on  the  farm.  He  was  born  in  a  great  big 
place,  called  a  kennel,  where  lots  of  other  dogs 
lived.  One  day,  just  after  he  had  finished  his 
saucer  of  milk  and  had  made  up  his  mind  to  en- 
joy a  good  long  nap,  a  boy,  who  was  always 
poking  around  where  he  was  not  wanted,  came, 
and  with  no  gentle  hand  grabbed  him  up  and 
carried  him  far  away  from  the  other  dogs.  Fido 
shut  his  eyes  and  growled,  as  he  thought,  quite 
savagely.  Then  he  heard  the  boy  say,  "This  is 
a  beauty,  and  I  can  promise  you  he  will  turn  out 
a  fine  dog."  Somebody  took  him  away  from  the 
boy  then,  and  Fido  liked  the  way  he  stroked  his 
head,  so  gentle,  and  called  him  "a.  pretty  little 
fellow,"  and  he  liked  the  pleasant  way  in  which 


Fido,  the  Shepherd  Dog.  123 

this  somebody  laughed  when  he,  Fido,  began 
licking  his  hand. 

'Til  take  him,"  he  heard  the  stranger  say,  and 
W 


then,  without  another  word,  Fido  was  tucked 
away  into  the  pocket  of  the  man's  great  coat.  It 
seemed  such  a  long  while  to  Fido  before  he 
heard  the  farmer  say  "Whoa"  to  his  horses,  and 


124  Fido,  the  Shepherd  Dog. 

then  he  heard  a  little  childish  voice  say,  '*T)id 
you  bring  him,  Father?"  and  Fido  knew  bhe 
meant  him,  for  the  farmer  reached  into  his 
pocket,  hauled  him  out,  and  replied,  "Here  he 
is,  little  I^an;  give  him  something  to  eat,  for  he 
must  be  hungry  after  his  long  ride." 

"Oh,  Father,  what  a  darling  he  is,"  and  she 
hugged  Fido  so  tight  that  he  really  had  to  squeal 
to  himself  from  being  choked  to  death.  Little 
Nan  could  hardly  allow  Fido  time  to  lap  his 
milk,  she  was  so  wild  with  delight  over  him,  and 
when  he  had  finished  she  gathered  him  in  her 
chubby  arms  and  rocked  him  jusi  as  she  had 
seen  mother  rock  the  baby,  singing  to  him  softly 
one  of  baby's  bye-low  songs.  Fido  felt  so  happy 
that  it  was  not  long  before  he  was  sound  asleep 
and  snoring  like  a  good  fellow.  AVhen  mother 
called  JSTan  to  go  to  bed,  she  put  Fido  in  the  box 
that  father  had  built  for  him,  and  Fido  was  so 
sleepy  he  could  hardly  wag  his  curly  tail  to  show 
his  pleasure. 

The  next  morning  Fido  wakened  bright  and 
early,  and  gazed  with  wonder  at  the  new  w^orld 
into  which  he  had  come.  Nan  brought  him  his 
breakfast  of  bread  and  milk,  and  then  off  they 
started  for  a  jolly  scamper.     Such  fun  as  these 


Fido,  the  Shepherd  Dog.  125 

two  had  together.  Wherever  Nan  went,  Fido 
followed,  and  Xan  was  such  a  kind,  loving  little 
mistress  that  he  loved  her  dearly. 

Fido  grew  bigger  and  stronger  every  day,  and 
he  certainly  made  good  the  boy's  promise  of  his 
becoming  a  fine  dog.  He  found  out  by  and  by 
that  life  was  not  all  play,  for  the  farmer  carried 
him  off  one  day  to  teach  him  to  mind  the  sheep. 
It  was  not  long  before  Fido  knew  all  about  it, 
and  the  farmer  told  little  Xan  that  he  was  the 
best  shepherd  dog  he  had  ever  had. 

Now  the  old  wolf,  who  lived  in  the  woods 
back  of  the  pasture  lot,  had  found  out  w^hat  a 
good  shepherd  Fido  was,  for  try  as  he  might, 
not  once  could  he  find  him  napping.  One  day 
this  w^olf  thought  he  would  be  very  cunning  and 
get  the  best  of  Fido,  so  he  went  carefully  out  to 
the  corn  field  one  night,  and  robbed  the  scare- 
crow of  his  clothes  and  rigged  himself  in  them, 
thinking  that  Fido  would  not  know  him. 

The  moon  was  shining  brightly,  and  as  the 
wolf  came  across  the  field,  Fido  pricked  up  his 
ears  and  looked  at  him  suspiciously.  He  knew 
that  he  did  not  belong  in  the  field  any  way,  and 
so  he  kept  pretty  close  watch  over  him.  Closer 
and   closer  came   the   wolf,   and   Fido  waited 


126 


Fido,  the  Shepherd  Dog. 


quietly  for  him,  and  then,  with  one  long,  know- 
ing look,  leaped  upon  him.  It  was  too  bad,  but 
Fido  had  grabbed  the  coat  and  not  the  wolf,  so 
that  Mr,  Wolf  slipped  out  of  his  covering  and 


was  off  in  the  woods  as  fast  as  his  legs  could 
carry  him,  and  never  again,  as  far  as  we  know, 
has  he  tried  to  play  any  tricks  on  Fido. 

But  for  Fido,  !Nan's  father  might  have  lost 


The  Bicycle  Race.  127 

many  of  liis  valuable  sheep,  and  he  could  not  be 
grateful  enough  to  the  faithful  dog  for  his  good 
service. 

Nan  was  very  proud  of  her  Fido  when  her 
father  told  of  the  way  in  which  he  looked  after 
the  flock,  and  said  she  was  quite  sure  nothing 
would  ever  harm  them  as  long  as  he  was  around. 

Quite  often  Fido  would  go  with  Nan's  father, 
and  help  him  drive  his  sheep  to  market,  and  he 
was  always  so  faithful  and  trusty  that  Nan's 
father  was  never  sorry  that  he  stopped  that  day 
and  got  the  little  fellow. 


The  Bicycle  Race. 

The  glorious  Fourth  had  proclaimed  itself  all 
day  long.  Bang!  Bang!  Bang!  went  the  cannons, 
Bang!  Bang!  Bang!  echoed  the  crackers,  and 
Bang!  Bang!  Bang!  sounded  the  torpedoes  small 
and  great  Gunpowder  made  the  air  heavy  and 
oppressive,  and  the  clouds  gathering  in  the  sky 
made  one  very  uncertain  as  to  whether  or  not  the 
rain  would  put  an  «end  to  all  the  fun.  Large 
posters  in  red  and  blue  letters  had  notified  the 
people  that  the  most  beautiful  fireworks  they 


128  The  Bicycle  Race. 

liad  ever  seen  would  be  put  off  back  of  tlit  O^f^re 
house — so  do  you  wonder  that  the  sly  was 
watched  most  anxiously? 

Now  the  people  of  the  to^vn  were  not  alone  in 
wishing  for  a  clear  night.  The  young  folks  who 
dwelt  in  the  woods  were  watching  the  clouds 
with  just  the  keenest  interest,  even  the  tiniest 
speck  of  blue  sky  was  hailed  with  shouts  of  de- 
light. Were  they,  too,  going  to  celebrate  this 
day  of  Independence?  Why,  to  be  sure  they 
were.  They  were  not  going  to  send  off  rockets 
and  bombs.  Roman  candles  and  pin-wlieels  were 
not  part  of  their  fun.  These  forest  folks  had  in- 
vited all  their  friends  to  witness  a  bicycle  race. 
The  bear,  the  wolf,  the  fox,  the  rabbit,  the 
porcupine  and  the  catamount  were  to  take  part, 
and  as  no  bicycle  race  had  ever  been  ridden  in 
these  parts,  the  greatest  interest  vras  taken  in  it 
by  all  the  animals  in  the  country  round. 

For  weeks  they  had  been  practicing.  Early 
and  late  you  might  see  these  four-footed  fellows 
mounted  on  their  wheels,  and  pushing  them 
along  just  as  fast  as  ever  they  could.  It  was  not 
all  fun  either,  for  tires  v/ould  slip  off  the  rims, 
nuts  constantly  became  loose,  and  sometimes  it 
happened  that  a  stone  or  a  twig  or  something  of 


The  Bicycle  Race.  1*9 

the  sort  sent  the  rider  off  his  wheel,  and  then 
bent  handle-bars  must  be  straightened,  or  worse 
still,  bruised  heads  must  be  tied  up — but  all 
these  woes  were  part  of  the  undertaking,  so  no 
one  dared  complain,  but  must  go  to  work  and  try- 
again. 

Well,  all  these  trials  were  over  now,  and  the 
evening  had  come  when  fate  should  decide  to 
whom  the  honor  belonged.  What  a  crowd  had 
gathered  to  see  them.  The  squirrels  sat  chatter- 
ing together  up  in  the  trees;  the  crickets  and 
katj-dids  tried  to  outdo  each  other  in  their  lively 
chirrup,  and  the  nightingale  raised  her  sweet 
voice  and  poured  forth  the  loveliest  music. 

One!  UygI  three!  croaked  the  frog,  and  off 
they  started.  The  rabbit  was  first.  "Three 
cheers  for  Bun!''  shouted  the  crowd.  "Bruin  is 
ahead!  Three  cheers  for  Bruin."  "It's  the  Fox 
this  time!"  "Xo,  he  has  lost  his  place.  Bruin  is 
ahead  again!"  "Oh,  what  a  shame,  the  wolf  has 
fallen  off!  No  use  trying  again,  poor  wolf,  the 
others  are  far  ahead." 

First  it  was  one  and  then  another,  until  at  last^ 
just  as  the  goal  was  reached,  little  Bun  wath  one 
mighty  effort  came  in  first.  How  the  crowd 
cheered,  and  what  a  happy  fellow  Bun  was.    It 


I30  The  Jolly  Chinee. 

was  hard  for  the  others,  but  as  some  one  must 
win,  all  felt  satisfied  that  it  should  be  the  little 
rabbit  Then  the  lion,  who-  was  judge,  awarded 
the  prize,  which  was  the  nicest  bicycle  ever 
made,  and  little  Bun  went  home  very  happy. 


The  Jolly  Chinee. 

We  Wo  Wang  was  a  "Jolly  Chinee.''  From 
the  time  lie  opened  his  funny  almond-shaped 
eyes  in  the  morning  until  sleep  closed  tkem  for 
him  at  night,  he  laughed  and  chatted,  and  sang 
the  merriest  kind  of  songs.  He  liked  the  sun, 
because  it  always  seemed  so  bright  and  happy — 
lie  loved  to  be  out  in  it.  He  liked  all  sorts  of 
flowers,  the  gayer  the  better  for  him;  he  liked 
bis  clothes  the  brightest;  everything  must  be 
brilliant  and  sparkling  to  please  We  Wo  Wang, 
the  "Jolly  Chinee.'' 

We  Wo  Wang  had  two  sisters,  who  bad  funny 
almond-shaped  eyes  just  like  his,  and  long, 
straight,  black  hair,  like  his  also.  But  they  did 
not  wear  a  pigtail  as  We  Wo  Wang  did;  they 
piled  their  hair  on  top  of  their  heads,  and  dressed 
it  beautifully,  they  thought,  with  fancy  pins  and 


The  Jolly  Chinee.  131 

tiny  fans.  They  wore  queer  little  shoes,  that 
were  so  tight  they  pinched  their  toes  dreadfully, 
and  made  them  sway  from  side  to  side  as  they 
walked  along.  One  day  We  Wo  Wang  said  to 
his  sisters,  "My  dears,  I  am  sure,  if  I  tried  J 


might  walk  down 
those  balusters.  I 
think  I  might  do 
it  gracefully,  too; 
know    just     how 
would    balance    my- 
self.^'      His      sisters 
were  horrified  at  the 
idea,  and  begged  him  not 
to  try,  but  We  Wo  Wang 
was  determined.   He  mount- 
ed the  rail,  opened  his  fan, 


132  The  Jolly  Chinee. 

fluttered  it  from  side  to  side,  and  commenced 
the  descent. 

The  servants  hearing  of  their  master's  doings, 
hurried  from  all  parts  of  the  house  to  see  the 
sight.  But  alas!  for  poor  We  Wo  Wang;  his 
foot  slipped,  and  he  came  crashing  down  to  the 
floor.  Away  flew  his  hat,  away  flew  his  fan. 
Servants  rushed  to  pick  him  up,  and  his  two 
little  sisters  came  hobbling  down  the  stairs  as 
fast  as  ever  they  could,  expecting  to  see  We  Wo 
Wang  battered  to  pieces.  There  were  no  bones 
broken,  and  arnica  and  court  plaster  soon  made 
him  pretty  comfortable.  But  there  was  some- 
thing hurt  past  healing,  and  that  was  We  Wo 
Wang's  pride.  It  gTieved  him  to  think  his  ser- 
vants had  seen  his  failure.  It  was  bad  enough 
for  his  sisters  to  have  been  witnesses,  but  it  was 
dreadful  to  have  these  chattering  servants  laugh 
and  joke  over  his  downfall.  He  made  up  his 
mind  to  punish  them  for  having  so  much  curios- 
ity, so  he  had  one  of  them  carry  him  into  the 
hall,  prop  him  up  with  pillows,  and  then  he 
ordered  them  to  walk  down  the  ballusters,  one 
after  the  other,  while  he  sat  and  w^atched  their 
defeat  just  as  they  had  witnessed  his.  The 
servants  were  greatly  terrified  whon  they  heard 


The  Jolly  Chinee.  133 

this  command,  but  of  course  they  all  had  to  try, 
because  they  dared,  not  disobey  their  master's 


^  "^  v^^»<(^M, 


command.    One  after  another  they  mounted  the 
stairs,  and  took  their  positions  to  descend,  but 


134  A  Chinese  Adventure. 

not  in  the  way  We  Wo  Wang  intended.  Off 
they  tumbled,  one  after  another,  bruising  their 
poor  bodies  and  wishing  they  had  kept  out  of  the 
way,  and  not  been  so  curious.  We  Li  Ho  came 
very  near  coming  down  in  safety,  but  near  the 
bottom  his  foot  slipped,  and  he  too  fell  down. 
As  We  Wo  Wang  sat  and  watched  them,  he 
laughed  hard  enough  to  split  his  sides,  for  no 
one  was  able  to  accomplish  the  feat 


A  Chinese  Adventure. 

We  Wing  Wo  was  a  little  yellow  Chinaman. 
He  belonged  to  one  of  the  best  families,  as  any 
one  could  tell  from  his  red  and  yellow  girdle. 
That  he  never  worked  a  day  in  his  life  might  also 
be  told  by  the  great  length  of  his  finger  nails,  of 
which  he  was  wonderfully  proud.  He  was  also 
proud  of  his  round,  plump  figure,  for  Chinamen, 
you  know,  like  to  be  fat.  Like  the  rest  of  his 
countrymen,  he  had  almond-shaped  eyes,  and 
wore  his  shiny  black  hair  in  a  long,  carefully 
combed  pig-tail. 

We  Wing  Wo  was  very  fond  of  good  thinga 


136 


A  Chinese  Adventure. 


to  eat,  and  lie  thought  no  one  could  cook  these 
good  things  as  well  as  his  servant,  Ho  Che  Lee. 


How  old  We  Wing  Wo  would  smile  with  de- 
light when  the  bird's-nest  soup  was  set  before 


A  Chinese  Adventure.  137 

him;  and  then,  again,  how  merrily  he  would 
chuckle-  over  a  dish  of  shark's  fins  or  deer's 
sinews,  and  the  never-forgotten  pearly  white 
rice!  "VYe  Wing  "VYo  could  make  his  chop  sticks 
fly  when  all  these  dainties  graced  his  table.  But 
above  all  things,  "We  "Wing  Wo  loved  a  cup  of 
good,  strong  tea.  It  seemed  to  drive  away  all 
cares  and  troubles.  Ho  Che  Lee  always  kept 
some  ready  in  a  funny  brown  tea-pot. 

We  Wing  Wo  had  never  been  to  sea,  and  he 
was  siezed  with  a  wild  dt«ir©  to  try  a  trip  on  the 
briny  deep.  One  day  he  called  his  faithful  Ho 
Che  Lee  to  him,  and  telling  him  his  wish,  bade 
him  pack  a  hamper  with  eatables,  hunt  up  a 
boat,  and  prepare  to  take  the  journey  with  him. 
Poor  Ho  Che  Lee  shook  with  fear  at  such  a 
prospect,  but  he  dared  not  question  his  master's 
order,  and  so  went  away  to  do  his  bidding. 
When  all  was  ready,  Ho  Che  Lee  suggested  that 
it  might  be  better  to  take  with  them  somebody 
who  knew  a  thirg  or  two  about  a  boat.  We 
Wing  Wo  agreed  to  this;  a  fellow  was  found, 
and  the  three  set  sail. 

All  went  well  at  first,  but  by  and  by  poor  We 
Wing  Wo  wished  ho  was  on  shore,  for  he  was 
growing  sicker  every  minute. 


138 


A  Chinese  Adventure. 


'TLet's  go  home,"  said  he.    "Sailing  is  no  pleas- 
Tire  at  all."^ 


The  Eagle's  Christmas.  139 

It  was  easy  enough  to  say,  go  home,  but  try 
as  they  might,  neither  the  sailor  nor  He  Che  Lee 
could  manage  the  boat. 

"Throw  out  a  line,"  said  We  Wing  "Wo,  "and 
see  how  deep  it  is."  Out  went  the  line,  and  out 
went  luckless  Lee;  not  to  drown,  however,  for 
after  much  pidling  he  was  landed  safely  in  the 
boat. 

How  all  of  them  longed  for  shore,  and  how 
very  small  their  chances  of  getting  there  did 
seem!  But  fate  is  sometimes  kind,  and  so  she 
proved  herself  this  time. 

Some  men  had  been  watching  the  boat  from 
the  shore,  and  had  seen  the  poor  fellows'  sorry 
plight;  so  they  tied  a  rope  round  the  waist  of 
one  good-hearted  Chinaman,  and  sent  him  to  the 
rescue.  He  swam  out  to  them,  fastened  the  rope 
to  the  bow,  and  with  many  long,  strong  pulls 
We  Wing  Wo  was  hauled  to  shore. 


The  Eagle's  Christmas. 

On  the  top  of  a  high  mountain  a  mother 
eagle  had  built  a  nice,  soft  nest  She  did  not 
build  where  some  eagles  do,  in  the  cleft  of  the 


I40  The  Eagle's  Christmas. 

rocks,  but  in  top  of  a  large  tree.  In  the  nest  she 
laid  four  eggs,  and  there,  day  after  day,  she  sat 
on  the  nest,  keeping  the  eggs  warm,  until  one 
day  she  heard  a  gentle  rap-rap  against  the  shell. 
The  knocking  grew  louder  and  louder,  and  a  bit 
of  the  shell  fell  off  the  end  of  the  egg,  and  slowly 
a  little  head  came  out,  and  then  a  little  body, 
and  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  the  old  Mother 
Eagle  found  herself  with  four  little  ones  to  look 
after.  It  kept  her  very  busy  indeed,  supplying 
all  their  wants,  and  she  had  to  make  a  good  many 
trips  to  the  valley  to  get  them  the  food  they 
wanted. 

All  babies  must  have  a  name,  and  so  the  old 
Mother  Eagle  put  on  her  thinking  cap,  and  tried 
to  find  a  name  for  each  child;  but,  like  all  mam- 
mas, none  was  good  enough.  At  last  she  de- 
cided to  call  them  Tim,  Sam,  Chirp  and  Baldy. 

They  were  a  funny  looking  lot  of  creatures, 
to  be  sure,  with  their  big  heads,  and  mouths  al- 
ways open,  and  we  would  not  think  them  at  all 
pretty;  but  they  seemed  beautiful  to  their 
mamma,  and  she  was  always  trying  to  think  up 
ways  of  making  them  happy.  'No  children  ever 
spent  more  happy  days  than  these  little  eagles. 
Strange  to  say,  they  never  quarreled.     If  Sam 


The  Eagle's  Christmas.  14I 

felt  cross,  and  was  likely  to  scold,  the  other  little 
ones  would  creep  awav,  and  leave  him  to  himself 
until  he  was  good-natured  once  more.  They 
loved  one  another  very  dearly,  and  each  one  was 
ready  to  do  as  the  others  wished.  They  never 
said,  "I  won't  play,  if  you  do  that,"  as  some  little 
boys  and  girls  do. 

They  were  still  quite  young,  so  young  that 
they  had  not  yet  learned  to  fly,  when  the  glad 
Christmas  time  rolled  around.  The  snow  had 
been  falling  for  several  days,  and  the  mountain 
tops  were  covered  with  a  beautiful  white  blanket. 
On  the  fir  trees  just  near  the  eagle's  nest,  the 
snow  glistened  like  diamonds  in  the  morning  sun. 
Sam  and  Tim,  Baldy  and  Chirp  were  up  early 
that  Christmas  morning,  for,  like  all  little  folks, 
they  wanted  to  see  if  Santa  Claus  had  brought 
them  anything.  All  the  week  they  had  been 
wild  with  excitement,  for,  although  they  had 
never  had  a  Christmas,  their  mamma  had  told 
them  all  about  it,  and  it  seemed  as  if  they  could 
never  wait  for  the  day  to  come.  Each  tiny  eagle 
had  written  do^^Ti  just  what  he  wanted,  and 
mamma  had  a  long  list  when  she  started  off  that 
morning  to  get  the  gifts  and  the  Christmas 
dinner.    Santa  Claus  was  so  busy  supplying  the 


142  The  Eagle's  Christmas. 

wants  of  the  children  down  in  the  valley,  that  he 
did  not  have  time  to  visit  the  nest,  but  he  met 
the  Mother  Eagle  one  day  as  he  was  driving  over 
the  mountain,  and  he  had  promised  to  leave  a 
lot  of  nice  toys  for  the  little  ones  hidden  in  the 
hollow  tree  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  where 
she  could  get  them.  Santa  Claus  has  such  a 
good,  kind  heart  that  he  could  not  bear  to  think 
that  even  little  eagles  should  be  forgotten  on  this 
glad  day,  when  all  of  God's  creatures  should  be 
happy. 

All  day  the  little  eagles  sat  on  the  branches  of 
the  tree  which  was  their  home,  craning  their 
long  necks  and  straining  their  eyes  to  catch  the 
first  sight  of  their  mother  as  she  flew  homeward. 
They  did  not  even  take  time  for  tlieir  mid-day 
nap,  and  if  they  had  not  been  so  anxious  to  see 
what  their  mamma  would  bring,  I  fear  they 
would  have  dropped  asleep  and  perhaps  would 
have  fallen  out  of  the  tree  to  the  ground  below. 
It  was  nearly  twilight  when  the  mother  came 
home,  and  how  joyfully  the  little  ones  greeted 
her,  and  how  delighted  they  were  with  her  well- 
filled  basket.  They  chattered  and  chirped  in 
their  own  language  until  their  poor  mother 
was    almost   wild    with    their   noise,    but    she 


The  Eagle's  Christmas.  143 

was  also  very  much  pleased  to  see  them  all  so 
happy. 

What  a  nice  Christmas  dinner  they  had.  True, 
their  turkey  was  not  roasted  or  garnished,  as  ours 
is,  but  they  liked  it  all  the  better.  Tirst  there 
was  the  nicest,  sweetest  fish  you  ever  saw,  served 
up  in  true  eagle  style.  Then  a  nice  rabbit,  two 
young  pigeons  and  some  fat  ducks.  When  the 
youngsters  had  finished  their  dinner,  their 
mamma  brought  out  a  bag  of  yellow  com  and  a 
lot  of  rosy  cheeked  apples,  which  she  had  stolen 
from  a  farmer's  wagon.  My,  how  those  little 
eagles  did  eat  It  was  a  great  wonder  they  did 
not  all  die. 

Wlien  the  feast  was  over,  and  the  horns  and 
drums,  the  bright  picture  books,  and  the  other 
pretty  toys  were  distributed,  they  all  decided 
that  Christmas  was  the  happiest  time  imaginable. 
^Well,  really,"  said  little  Baldy,  "I  wish  Christ- 
mas came  oftener."  And  all  the  others  cried, 
*^So  do  we." 


Tale  of  the  Ostrich  Hunter. 

Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  bird  tliat  could  not 
fly?  That  seems  odd,  does  it  not?  But  a  bird, 
called  the  ostrich,  belongs  to  this  family.  Its 
wings  are  so  tiny  that  they  are  of  little  use  to 
him,  except  that  while  running  they  spread  out 
and  catch  the  air.  If  the  ostrich  has  not  the 
power  of  flying,  which  other  birds  possess,  he 
is  gifted  with  the  ability  to  run  at  a  wonderfully 
swift  pace.  To  help  him  in  this  direction,  he  is 
provided  with  strong,  long  legs,  that  carry  him 
across  the  country  as  rapidly  as  the  swiftest 
horse.  The  long  neck  of  this  bird  is  covered 
with  soft,  downy  plumage,  but  its  body  is  cov- 
ered with  the  beautiful,  graceful  plumes  that  are 
used  for  trimming  our  hats  and  bonnets. 

The  home  of  the  ostrich  is  in  the  hot,  sunny 
desert  land  of  Africa.  It  is  a  very  tall  bird, 
measuring  six  feet,  and  sometimes  eight.  Its 
lood  is  principally  grass  and  grains,  but  it  picks 
up  and  devours  sand  and  pieces  of  stone  and 
bone.  It  will  also  eat  insects,  small  birds  and 
snakes.  Large  numbers  of  them  wdll  feed  to- 
gether; in  fact,  they  live  in  flocks,  often  of  great 

size.     The  mother  bird,  before  laying  her  eggs, 
144 


Tale  of  the  Ostrich  Hunter. 


145 


scratches  a  hole  in  the  ground,  thus  making  her 
nest.     She  lays  ten  or  twelve  eggs  in  the  same 


place.    In  the  daytime  she  allows  the  heat  of  the 
sun  to  hatch  them^  but  at  night  she  sits  on  them 


146  Tale  of  the  Ostrich  Hunter. 

and  keeps  them  warm.  These  eggs  are  said  to 
weigh  three  pounds  apiece  and  to  be  good  to  eat. 
The  father  ostrich  sometimes  grows  weary  of 
the  long  term  of  hatching,  and  breaks  the  eggs 
before  the  tiny  bird  is  ready  to  come  out. 

The  feathers  of  the  ostrich  are  worth  a  great 
deal  of  money.  Sometimes  the  birds  are  hunted 
by  natives  on  horseback,  and  the  horses  are 
trained  for  this  long,  tedious  ride  for  a  great 
while — the  bird  is  not  easily  caught  by  its  pur- 
suer. 

There  are  farms,  called  ostrich  farms,  where 
the  birds  are  raised  in  great  numbers.  The  eggs 
are  set,  and  the  baby  ostriches  hatched,  watched 
and  cared  for  until  they  are  old  enough  to  jield 
the  beautiful  plumage. 

If  the  ostrich  is  taken  away  from  its  home  and 
put  in  a  cage,  it  will  in  time  become  quite  tame 
and  gentle  toward  those  to  whom  it  is  used,  but 
it  does  not  like  a  stranger,  and  if  it  gets  a  chance 
will  knock  him  down  and  trample  on  him. 

Somebody  told  a  funny  story  about  an  old  fel- 
low, who  thought  he  would  take  his  gun  and  go 
hunting  for  ostriches,  as  he  wanted  to  get  a  lot 
of  nice  feathers  and  some  of  the  birds  to  send 
away  to  a  museum.     So  he  started  out  on  the 


Tale  of  the  Ostrich  Hunter. 


147 


desert  to  hunt  his  prej.  Pretty  soon  he  came 
upon  an  ostrich  that  was  resting  in  the  sun,  and 
raising  his  gun  to  his  shoulder,  he  fired.  He 
wounded  the  bird  so  that  it  could  not  walk  very 
fast,  and  thinking  that  he  would  be  able  to  cap- 


ture it,  if  he  could  wound  it  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  stop  its  walking,  he  crept  carefully  toward  it, 
and  stooping  down,  attempted  to  cut  off  its  leg 
with  his  sharp,  strong  sword.  He  felt  quite  sure 
of  his  prize  now,  but  had  not  counted  on  what 
was  going  to  happen.    The  ostrich  is  a  very  wise 


148  Vacation  at  Grandfather's. 

bird,  and  this  fellow  knew  that  he  had  the  hunter 
just  where  he  wanted  him — completely  in  his 
power.  What  do  you  think  that  ostrich  did? 
He  dropped  right  down  on  top  of  the  poor 
hunter,  completely  hiding  him  from  view.  That 
poor  hunter  wished  he  had  not  been  so  foolish 
as  to  get  so  near  the  huge  bird,  at  least  we  sup- 
pose he  wished  so ;  but  we  shall  never  know  just 
how  he  did  feel,  for  vv^hen  the  ostrich  at  last 
arose,  there  lay  the  poor  hunter  just  as  flat  as 
a  pancake,  looking  very  much  as  if  he  had  been 
under  a  heavy  rolling  machine.  The  ostrich 
hurried  away  as  fast  as  he  could  go,  leaving  the 
poor  hunter  to  his  fate.  "We  see  what  a  powerful 
bird  this  is  and  how  careful  the  poor  hunter  has 
to  be. 


Vacation  at  Grandfather's. 

Vacation  had  come,  and  Dick  and  I  were  two 
of  the  happiest  boys  you  could  find  after  a  good 
long  search.  Vacation  did  not  simply  mean  to 
us  that  examinations  were  over,  that,  now  books 
and  slates  could  be  put  away,  and  study  hour 
given  over  to  play,     l^o,   indeed!     Vacation 


Vacation  at  Grandfather's.  149 

meant  lots  more  to  us,  it  meant  Grandfather^s. 
If  and  boy  lias  a  grandfather  who  lives  on  a  big 
farm,  with  lots  of  horses  and  cews,  and  whose 
place  is  just  filled  with  trees  that  grow  in  exactly 
the  right  style  for  climbing,  and  if  he  has  a 
grandmother  who  knows  how  to  make  the  best 
pies  and  puddings  and  ginger  cake  men  that  no 
baker  could  possibly  make  half  as  good,  then  he 


has  some  idea  of  what  vacation  meant  to  Dick 
and  me. 

Grandfather's  place  was  many  miles  from  our 
home.  "We  had  to  start  quite  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  ride  on  the  train  all  day — then,  just 
about  the  time  the  sun  commenced  to  creep  down 
back  of  the  hill,  the  train  stopped  at  Clearfield, 
— that's  the  name  of  the  station — and  out  we 
popped,  eyes  wide  open  for  the  two  big  grays 
that  grandfather  always   drove.      They  never 


I50 


Vacation  at  Grandfather's. 


failed  us,  and  after  getting  a  good  big  hug  from 
grandfather,  we  always  rubbed  their  soft  noses, 
and  patted  their  sleek,  fat  necks. 

Grandmother  knew  the  appetites  of  her  two 
healthy  grand- 
sons, and  made 
ample  prepara- 
tions. Such  piles 
of  bread  and 
butter  as  she  cut 
for  us,  and  how 
good  it  tasted, 
spread  mth 
grandmother's 
lovely  butter 
and  the  golden 
honey  that  the 
busy  bees  made. 

"Early  to  bed,  and  early  to  rise,"  was  grand- 
father's motto;  so  Ave  boys  must  wait  until 
breakfast  time  to  tell  all  the  home  news, 
and  to  ask  after  Towser,  the  watch-dog,  and 
Bess,  the  old  donkey,  and  to  hear  about  the 
cunning  gray  kittens  in  the  bam,  and  the  little 
fluffy  ducklings  only  two  days  old,  and  the  baby 
lambs. 


Vacation  at  Grandfather's.  151 

The  sun  was  not  up  long,  when  grandfather 
called,  "Dick !  Rob !  It's  time  you  were  a  stirrin'. 
Don't  let  the  outside  world  enjoy  all  the  morn- 
ing's loveliness;  get  up,  and  enjoy  yourselves." 

How  we  did  love  the  well-cured  ham  that 
grandmother  had  for  breakfast,  and  the  new-laid 
eggs  that  were  fried  just  right.  Everything 
tasted  wonderfully  good  to  us  boys,  for  hunger 
is  a  good  sauce,  you  know. 

Breakfast  over,  we  started  for  the  stables.  It 
was  such  fun  to  hear  the  horses  whinning  for 
their  share  of  the  apples  we  carried  to  Bess,  and 
to  see  the  little  baby  colts  trot  coyly  away  as 
we  attempted  to  rub  their  cunning  faces.  Our 
next  visit  was  made  to  the  calves.  I^othing  could 
be  prettier  than  these  timid  little  creatures.  We 
had  hard  work  coaxing  them  to  be  friends,  but 
the  salt  held  out  to  them  was  too  great  a  tempta- 
tion, and  we  won  at  last. 

Aaron,  the  man,  was  milking.  The  milk  rose 
in  a  snowy  foam  as  it  poured  into  the  shining 
tin  pail.  We  boys  were  great  friends  with 
Aaron,  and  his  round  red  face  beamed  like  the 
sun  as  we  watched  him  with  undisguised  admira- 
tion. 

"Mew!  Mew!"  sounded  from  some  far  away 


Vacation  at  Grandfather's.  153 

corner.  Dick  went  off  to  search  for  the  cause, 
and  there  in  an  empty  stall  lay  Malty  and  her 
four  Malty  babies.  Aaron  gave  us  a  saucer  of 
milk  for  her,  and  she  purred  gently,  as  though 
she  were  trying  to  express  her  thanks.  The  old 
gobbler  strutted  around  the  barnyard,  seeming 
to  suggest  that  he,  too,  was  a  subject  for  ad- 
miration. 

The  boy,  Dan,  had  gone  to  the  corn  field  to 
pull  out  the  weeds  that  had  gathered  between  the 
rows.  Dick  and  I  started  off  to  join  him,  but 
what  a  laugh  we  had  when  we  reached  the  top 
of  the  hill.  There  stood  the  funniest  looking 
thing  you  ever  saw.  It  was  a  scare-crow  rigged. 
up  in  an  old  suit  of  Dan's,  with  one  of  grand- 
father's hats  on  its  head,  a  wooden  gun  in  its 
hand,  and  a  powder  flask  swung  under  its  arm. 
But  the  funniest  sight  of  all  was  to  see  a  crow 
perched  on  the  top  of  the  hat,  no  more  scared, 
than  Dick  and  I  were. 

Days  went  so  fast  that  vacation  was  over  be- 
fore we  realized  it,  and  the  time  had  come  for 
ns  to  go  home.  It  was  hard  work  to  leave  so 
much  fun,  but  we  had  to  make  the  best  of  it, 
and  look  forward  to  another  summer  and  more 
happy  days  at  Grandfather's. 


Ted's  Birthday  Gift. 

It  was  Ted's  birthday.  Eight  years  ago, 
grandma  told  him  as  she  wished  him  many  happy 
returns  of  the  day,  and  gave  him  a  great,  big 
hug  and  a  kiss — he  was  just  the  tiniest  mite  of  a 


thing,  but  now  she  considers  him  quite  a  good 
size  boy  for  his  age.  Ted  liked  to  be  told  he  was 
big,  and  he  held  up  his  head  and  threw  back  his 
shoulders,  just  to  make  himself  as  tall  as  ever 
he  could. 

154 


Ted's  Birtliday  Girt.  155 

Now  papa  had  a  birthday  kiss  for  Ted,  too, 
but  he  had  something  besides  that.  Right  along- 
side of  Ted's  chair  at  the  table  was  the  loveliest 
red  wheel-barrow,  all  finished  off  in  black  and 


gold.  You  should  have  seen.  Ted's  eyee  when 
they  spied  the  treasure.  They  grew  bigger  and 
bigger,  until  you  might  almost  think  they  would 
drop  out  of  his  head.  He  had  wanted  a  wheel- 
barrow for  ever  so  long,  and  now  that  his  wish 
was  to  be  fulfilled  he-  was  too  pleased  to  say  one 


156  Ted's  Birthday  Gift. 

word.  Papa  looked  almost  as  pleased  as  Ted, 
he  did  so  like  to  make  his  boy  happy. 

Ted's  birthday  came  in  the  spring.  He  thought 
it  was  a  beautiful  time  to  have  a  birthday — the 
whole  outside  world  seemed  to  put  on  its  pret- 
tiest dress  in  honor  of  the  day,  and  as  Ted  sat  at 
the  table  trying  to  eat  his  breakfast,  but  too  full 
of  delight  over  his  wheel-barrow  to  care  very 
much,  the  breezes,  heavy  ladened  with  the  per- 
fume of  the  blossoms,  stole  softly  in  at  the  half 
opened  windows. 

Little  Bess  was  Ted's  three  year  old  sister,  and 
she  was  also  his  pet  and  plaything.  Ted  was  an 
idol  to  Bess,  and  to  share  in  his  play  was  her 
greatest  happiness.  Bess  thought  the  new  wheel- 
barrow the  most  beautiful  thing  she  had  ever 
seen. 

"Go  put  your  bonnet  on,  and  I'll  take  you  for 
a  ride,"  said  Ted. 

"What  fun  they  had,  and  how  frightened  Bess 
grew  when  Ted  trunneled  her  so  swiftly  around 
the  comers.  Ted  laughed  at  her  fear,  and  went 
all  the  faster. 

But  Ted's  fearlessness  led  to  sad  trouble.  Just 
as  they  started  at  full  speed  down  the  hill,  off 
came  the  wheel,  out  went  Bess,  and  the  pretty 


Ted's  Birthday  Gift.  157 

red  wheel-barrow  fell  all  to  pieces.  ]^o  bones 
were  broken,  but  two  broken-hearted  little  chil- 
dren picked  up  the  pieces,  and  went  into  the 


house  to  mother.  Mother  Hssed  and  petted  them 
both,  and  comforted  Ted  with  the  promise  that 
father  would  mend  it  and  make  it  as  good  as 


new. 


The  Little  Indian  Boy. 

Did  you  ever  think,  when  night  comes  and 
you  see  mother  undress  the  baby  and  tuck  him 
snugly  in  his  snowy  w^hite  bed,  that  perhaps 
there  are  some  babies  who  have  different  cradles 
from  his,  and  very  different  treatment,  too? 

The  little  Indian  baby  who  lives  in  the  north- 
western part  of  America  has  a  very  different 
cradle.  His  is  only  a  piece  of  wood,  sometimes 
birch  bark,  which  is  hollowed  out.  The  baby  is 
laid  on  the  board,  and  his  mother  laces  him  in, 
passing  the  cord  from  side  to  side.  A  small  piece 
of  wood,  covered  with  bark,  is  used  for  his  pil- 
low. When  the  baby's  mother  goes  for  a  walk, 
she  carries  the  cradle  and  baby  on  her  back,  the 
little  Indian's  head  just  peeping  over  his 
mother's  shoulder.  If  she  is  busy,  she  hangs  the 
cradle  and  baby  on  a  tree,  and  the  mnd  swings 
the  cradle  gently  to  and  fro,  often  sending  the 
little  one  to  "Shut-eye-town."  Sometimes  there 
are  tiny  bells  fastened  to  the  cradle,  and  their 
tinkle,  tinkle,  when  the  wind  swings  it,  makes 
very  sweet  music. 

As  soon  as  the  little  Indian  boy  is  old  enough, 
his  father  takes  him  with  him  to  learn  hunting 
158 


The  Little  Indian  Boy.  159 

and  fishing.  He  holds  the  lighted  torch  while 
the  old  Indian  spears  the  fish  at  night,  and  he 
helps  him  also  with  the  canoe  or  boat.  He  soon 
learns  to  use  the  bow  and  arrow,  and  to  bring 
down  the  birds  as  they  fly  through  the  air.  It  is 
the  fate,  at  times,  of  some  unlucky  animal  to 
stop  the  arrow  as  it  comes  dashing  towards  the 
ground,  for  of  course  every  arrow  does  not  pierce 
the  object  toward  which  it  is  directed. 

The  Indian  children  do  not  wear  dainty 
clothes,  like  you  little  people.  Sometimes  they 
have  only  a  piece  of  cloth  around  them  serving 
for  a  skirt.  The  father  and  mother  Indians 
wrap  themselves  in  blankets,  and  the  brighter 
the  colors,  the  better  they  like  them.  Their  hair 
is  long  and  straight  and  black,  and  they  love  to 
dress  it  with  tall,  stiff  feathers.  Their  shoes  are 
not  made  like  ours,  but  are  pieces  of  skin,  often 
beautifully  trimmed  with  beads  and  worked  with 
fancy  silks.   These  shoes  are  called  moccasins. 

Once  there  was  a  little  Indian  boy,  who  lived 
not  far  from  the  railroad.  It  happened  one  day 
that  the  train  stopped  for  some  reason  or  other, 
and  this  little  fellow,  thinking  he  might  coax 
some  goodies  from  the  passengers,  sat  down  and 
cried  as  though  his  heart  would  break,  sobbing 


l6o  The  lyittle  Indian  Boy. 

out  from  time  to  time  how  hungry  he  was.  As 
he  sat  there  on  the  edge  of  the  platform,  the 
people  in  the  train  felt  very  sorry  for  him,  think- 
ing he  had  in  some  way  become  lost,  and  possibly 
might  be  starving;  so,  not  knowing  this  was  a 
trick,  pitied  the  poor  little  fellow,  opened  their 
baskets,  and  generously  shared  their  lunch  with 
him,  giving  him  the  very  best  they  had.  They 
did  not  know  that  the  father  and  mother  were 
hiding  in  the  bushes,  and  that  this  was  a  scheme 
of  theirs  to  get  their  living.  When  the  train 
moved  on,  he  gathered  up  his  treasures,  carried 
them  to  his  father  and  mother,  and  they  had  the 
grandest  kind  of  a  feast.  There  was  dainty 
white  bread,  chicken,  cakes  and  pies,  good  things 
of  all  sorts.  We  should  not  blame  the  little  fel- 
low, for  of  course  he  thought  it  was  all  right,  if 
mother  said  so,  just  as  our  little  boys  and  girls 
think  what  their  fathers  and  mothers  say  is  just 
right  and  the  proper  thing  to  do.  Now  this  was 
a  very  naughty  trick  for  the  little  Indian  boy  to 
play,  but  we  must  remember  that  he  had  no  one 
to  teach  him  how  wrong  it  is  to  deceive  people, 
for  his  father  and  mother  had  never  been  taught 
either.  It  is  we,  who  know  how,  who  must  try 
to  be  good. 


The  First  Pair  of  Trousers. 

The  rain  was  falling  thick  and  fast  in  the  dim 
old  forest.  At  first  it  had  been  nothing  but  a 
gentle  shower,  but  now  the  great  drops  came 
dashing  through  the  trees,  twisting  and  turn- 
ing the  leaves,  and  even  bending  the  swaying 
branches.  The  clouds  were  so  thick  and  black 
that  old  Sol  was  hidden  completely  out  of  sight. 

Little  Cubby  Bruin  heard  the  sound  of  the 
falling  rain  when  he  opened  his  eyes  in  the  hol- 
low of  the  great  tree  in  which  he  lived.  "Oh 
deary,  deary,"  muttered  Cubby.  "Now  all  my 
fun  is  spoiled.  This  is  the  day  of  Cousin  Wolfs 
party,  and  mother  will  never  let  me  go  while  the 
rain  pours  do^vn  in  this  style." 

He  crawled  to  the  opening  in  the  tree,  and 
poked  out  his  little  head  to  see  if  there  was  any 
show  of  its  clearing  off,  but  the  clouds  hung 
heavy,  and  the  rain  poured  do"s\Ti  unceasingly. 

Cubby  crawled  back  again,  and  curled  himself 
up  for  another  nap.  He  slept  once  more,  and 
dreamed  of  the  games  of  catch  and  toss,  and  of 
the  frolics  of  every  kind  that  he  and  Cousin 
"Wolf  would  enjoy  together.     Pretty  soon  he 

i6i 


l62 


The  First  Pair  of  Trousers. 


awoke  to  find  no  wolf  there,   and  he  himself 
tucked  away  in  the  old  tree. 

It  was  Mother  Bruin  that  had  aroused  the 


The  First  Pair  of  Trousers.  163 

sleeping  cub,  and  she  was  standing  outside  call- 
ing him  a  lazy  fellow,  and  telling  him  to  get  up. 

^'Is  it  still  raining,  mother?"  called  Cubby. 
'^Why,  no,"  said  she.  "The  rain  has  stopped,  the 
clouds  are  separating  to  let  the  sun  peep  out,  and 
a  gentle  breeze  is  blowing  and  drying  the  wet 
grass." 

Cubby  needed  no  calling  now,  but  sprang  out 
of  the  tree  with  a  bound. 

"Xow,  mother,"  said  he,  "I  can  go  to  "Wolfy's, 
can't  I?" 

"Go  to  AVolfy's!"  said  mother.  "You  have 
nothing  to  wear."  Cubby  looked  so  sad  that  his 
mother  felt  sorry,  and  so  she  gave  him  a  good, 
tight  hug,  and  told  him  she  would  fix  up  some- 
thing for  him  to  wear.  She  went  riglit  to  work, 
and  Cubby  jumped  and  capered  around,  listen- 
ing to  the  snip,  snap  of  her  scissors  as  slie  cut 
and  fitted  her  work.  At  last  she  had  fashioned 
the  cutest  pair  of  trousers  you  ever  saw.  It  was 
his  first  pair,  and  of  course  he  was  proud  of  them. 
He  strutted  around  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets, 
just  as  happy  as  he  could  be.  This  was  more  of 
a  treat  than  Cubby  had  dreamed  of,  for  he  had 
not  expected  to  be  promoted  to  trousers  so  soon. 
It  would  be  hard  to  tell  where  mother  found  the 


1 64  The  Tables  Turned. 

stuff  to  make  them  of,  but  they  were  certainly 
very  fine.  They  were  made  of  tiny  red  and 
white  checked  goods,  and  fastened  over  the 
shoulders  vath  bright  red  suspenders,  and  the 
fit  was  exquisite. 

Father  and  Mother  Bruin  were  just  about  as 
proud  and  happy  as  he,  and  greatly  pleased  at 
their  son's  happiness.  They  could  do  nothing 
but  stand  and  admire  their  boy  as  he  stood  be- 
fore them  in  his  new  rig. 

Cubby  was  so  much  taken  up  with  his  new 
clothes  that  he  forgot  all  about  going  to  "VVolfy's, 
and  it  was  quite  late  in  the  afternoon  before  he 
thought  of  it  again.  He  did  not  care  much,  how- 
ever, and  told  his  mamma  when  she  tucked  him 
in  bed  that  night  that  he  would  rather  have  the 
trousers  than  go  to  Wolfy's  forty  times. 


The  Tables  Turned. 

Old  Jimmy  Blake  lived  in  a  funny  sort  of  a 
shanty  at  the  foot  of  a  hill.  He  was  too  old  to 
work,  and  he  lived  upon  the  food  the  neighbors 
gave  him,  and  pretty  good  living  it  was,  too,  for 
the  neighbors  pittied  old  Jimmy,  and  many  of 


The  Tables  Turned.  165 

them  remembered  what  good  work  he  used  to 
do  before  the  stiffness  got  into  his  old  joints. 

Some  folks  said  that  Jimmy  lived  alone,  but 
this  was  a  mistake,  for  he  shared  his  shanty,  and 
also  his  food,  with  a  big,  long-homed  goat  called 
Billy.  Billy  loved  old  Jimmy  dearly,  and  would 
follow  him  around  like  a  dog,  but  to  every  one 
but  Jimmy,  Billy  was  the  Grossest  goat  that  ever 
lived.  If  Jimmy  was  out  of  sight,  strangers 
dared  not  venture  too  near  the  shanty. 

On  the  top  of  the  hill,  at  the  bottom  of  which 
Jimmy's  shanty  was  built,  stood  the  school  house. 
A  score  or  more  of  round-faced,  red-cheeked 
urchins  came  there  every  day  to  be  taught  their 
a-b-c's  and  as  much  other  learning  as  their  little 
brains  could  hold,  for  they  were  so  crowded  mth 
mischief,  it  was  hard  work  to  wedge  in  any 
knowledge. 

'Now  the  boys  all  knew  old  Jimmy,  and  they 
all  knew  Billy,  too,  and  Billy  knew  them.  He 
had  no  liking  for  these  school  children.  He  re- 
membered sticks  and  stones  that  had  been  aimed 
at  him  from  behind  trees  and  other  hiding  places. 

One  day  the  boys  planned  to  have  some  fun 
with  Billy.  One  of  them  had  seen  Jimmy's 
%hanty  tightly  shut,  and  the  goat  tied  to  a  tree* 


i66  The  Queen  Bee's  Ball: 

Down  tlie  hill  they  started,  well  ladened  with 
stones  and  other  missiles  of  one  sort  or  another, 
and  for  some  time  they  pelted  Billy  to  their 
hearts'  content.  But  all  at  once  the  tables  were 
turned;  Billy  gave  one  mighty  leap,  broke  the 
rope,  and  made  a  dash  for  his  tormentors.  Awsy 
they  flew,  Billy  after  them  as  fast  as  he  could 
go.  It  was  hard  work  getting  up  the  hill,  b-ut 
they  reached  the  school  house  at  last,  and  entered 
it,  a  lot  of  breathless,  scared  youngsters.  In  fact, 
they  had  never  before  been  quite  so  frightened, 
and  they  all  decided  that,  in  the  future,  they 
would  let  Billy  alone,  for  they  might  never 
again  have  such  a  lucky  escape. 


The  Oueen  Bee's  Ball. 

There  was  great  excitement  in  the  meadov/. 
As  soon  as  dawn  peeped  out  and  said  good  morn- 
ing to  the  world,  and  old  Sol  smilingly  lifted  his 
head  from  behind  the  trees  in  the  pine  woods, 
the  fuss  and  confusion  began.  The  Queen  of 
the  Bees  was  responsible  for  it  all.  She  had  de- 
cided to  give  a  ball,  and  had  bidden  her  mea- 


The  Queen  Bee's  Ball. 


167 


sengers  fly  far  and  near  to  tell  all  the  insects  in 
the  meadow  to  come  and  join  in  the  jolly  dance 
that  night.     One  flew  here,  and  another  flew 

there,  their 
noisy  buzz,  buzz, 
as  they  flew 
from  place  to 
place  making  a 
constant  din. 

A  merry  band 
of  fiddlers  lived 
in    the    swamp, 
and  the  Queen's 
favorite  messen- 
ger had  been  dispatched  there  in  great  haste,  for 
you  see,  they  were  needed  to  provide  the  music 
for  the  dancing. 

The  katy-dids  in  their  pretty  green  gowns 
were  invited  to  sing  a  duet,  half  singing  ^*Katy- 
did,''  and  half  responding  Avith  ^Tvaty-didn't.'^ 
The  Queen  Bee  liked  the  crickets,  and  so  did  all 
the  bees;  they  were  such  cheerful  little  fellows, 
and  so,  of  course,  they  were  invited,  and  thej 
one  and  all  accepted  the  invitation,  for  crickets 
never  miss  a  chance  for  having  fun,,  especially 
when  katy-dids  are  around. 


i68 


The  Queen  Bee's  Ball. 


'd'i^jjrff**  Jfjfij^Ji 


The  spider,  who  was  weaving  a  web  in  the 
spruce  tree,  sent  his 
compliments  to  her  royal 
highness,  the  Queen, 
and  bade  the  messenger 
tell  her  it  would  be  his 
pleasure  to  come,  but  it 
was  impossible  for  him 
to  leave  his  beautiful 
web,  that  was  so  nearly 
finished.  This  message 
did  not  please  Madame 
Queen  very  well,  for 
she  was  always  happiest  when  having  her  own 
way. 

The  locusts  had  just  shed  their  shells,  and 
were  attired  in  their  new  spring  suits,  so  they 
accepted  the  invitation  gladly,  for  the  vain  little 
fellows  thought  it  would  be  great  fun  to  show 
their  fine  clothes,  even  if  they  were  not  so  giddy 
as  the  yellow  jackets,  whose  striped  coat  was  the 
envy  of  all  the  insects. 

Tiny  Mrs.  Lady-bug  promised  to  come,  if  she 
could  find  any  one  to  stay  with  her  babies,  for 
only  the  night  before  she  had  left  them  alone, 
and  she  had  been  so  nervous  she  had  had  no 


The  Queen  Bee's  Ball. 


169 


p/easure,   for 

she     kt^pt 

h  spring    all 

thic     time, 

''I^dy-bug, 

lady  -bird,  fly 

away  home ; 

your  house 

is    ou     fire, 

your  children 

will  bum.''    So  she  had  made  up  her  mind  that 

she  would  not  leave  them  alone  again. 

Grand-daddy-long-legs  thought  he  had  grown 
too  old  for  halls,  but  the  messengers  coaxed  so 
hard  that  he  promised  to  take  a  good  long  nap, 
and  to  honor  the  occasion  with  his  presence. 

The  sun  ^-as  shining  in  all  his  glory,  and  the 
hour  of  noon  had  arrived  before  all  the  guests 
had  been  notified.  The  messengers  were  weary 
from  their  busy  morning,  and  hid  themselves  in 
the  hearts  of  the  flowers  or  among  the  tall,  grace- 
ful grasses  to  full  asleep,  and  so  refresh  them- 
selves that  they,  loo,  might  be  ready  for  the  fun 
and  frolic  the  evening  was  to  bring. 

"We  could  not  begin  to  tell  all  the  pleasant 
things  that  happeLieil»  but  one  was  the  meeting 
of  Yellow-jacket  and  Hm  £rauzy  Wings.     They 


I70 


The  Queen  Bee's  Ball. 


had  not  been  friends  for  a  long  time,  but  they 
met  this  day  on  their  way  to  the  ball,  and  found 
each  other's  company  so  pleasant  that  ere  long 


Yellow- jacket  was  on  his  knees,  suing  for  Miss 
Gauzy  Wing's  hand  in  marriage,  and  he  must 
have  been  accepted,  for  he  was  very  attentive  to 


Widow  Murphy's  Pig.  171 

her  all  tliroiigli  the  evening,  and  when  the  ball 
was  over,  and  all  the  insects  said  good-night  and 

hastened  away  to  their 
homes,  they  departed 
hand  in  hand,  and  be- 
fore very  long  there 
was  a  gathering  of  the 
insects  to  celebrate  the 
wedding  of  this  happy  pair.  So  the  Queen  Bee's 
Ball  was  the  means  of  bringing  about  the  event. 


Widow  Murphy  s  Pig. 

Everybody  knew  her — she  sold  apples  at  the 
crossing,  and  her  cheeks  were  as  red  and  her 
smile  as  sweet  as  the  tempting  fruit  that  made 
the  children's  eyes  sparkle  w^ith  delight.  Rain 
or  shine,  she  sat  there,  her  stiff  green  bonnet 
crowning  her  head  in  summer,  and  her  big  black 
bonnet  almost  hiding  her  cherry  face  in  winter. 

The  great  gingham  umbrella  that  shielded  her 
from  rain  and  sun  was  often  also  the  sheltering 
place  of  many  an  unlucky  school  boy  caught  in 
a  shower. 

She  lived  on  a  tiny  place,  just  outside  the 


172  Widow  Murphy's  Pig. 

towiij  and  wlien  Jack,  the  lame  newsboy,  or  Ted, 
the  black  boot-black,  or  when  any  of  her  regular 
customers  stopped  for  a  chat,  she  loved  to  tell 
them  of  her  "foine  pratie  patch  that  did  so  well, 
thanks  to  her  airly  risin,"  and  of  the  hens  that 
troubled  her  so  by  scratching  in  this  much-prized 
garden,  in  spite  of  all  the  corn  she  scattered  for 
their  comfort. 

But  by  and  by  she  revelled  in  a  new  treasure 
— a  cunning  black  pig.  One  day,  when  Widow 
Murphy  went  to  the  farm  house  for  her  daily 
can  of  milk — the  farmer's  wife  gave  it  to  her, 
and  what  a  prize  i^;  was  to  the  poor  old  soul. 
^Tvvas  sick  and  tiny  imd  forlorn  looking  enough 
when  she  got  it,  but  she  nursed  it  most  carefully, 
and  its  queer  little  g'/unt  was  like  music  to  her 
ears.  Piggy  learned  ^o  know  her,  and  followed 
her  around  like  a  dog;  and  he  really  grew  fatter 
every  day  in  his  comi^rtable  new  home. 

One  morning,  it  was  time  to  go  to  town  v/ith 
apples — and  time  for  l^'iggy  to  be  shut  in  his 
pen;  he  was  far  too  previous  to  be  left  roaming 
around — but  where  was  fie?  The  widow  searched 
everywhere,  and  called  Mid  called,  until  at  last 
she  gave  up  in  despair,  tind  tired  out,  sat  down 
upon  the  well  curb  to  rest  and  think. 


Widow  Murphy's  Pig;  I73 

Then  she  heard  a  noise  that  made  her  jump 
up  in  such  a  hurry  that  the  ruffles  on  her  snowy 
cap  almost  danced.  It  was  piggy's  grunt,  and  it 
certainly  came  from  the  well.  AVay  over  leaned 
the  old  lady — and  scarcely  could  she  believe  her 
own  eyes,  for  there  in  the  bucket,  safe  and  sound, 
sat  that  naughty  black  pig.  He  had  been  peer- 
ing over  the  well,  perhaps,  admiring  his  funny 
snout  in  the  clear  waters  below,  lost  his  balance, 
and  tumbled  in,  fortunately  into  the  bucket  that 
hung  down  low. 

How  glad  the  widow  was  to  find  him,  and  how 
the  boys  laughed  when  she  told  them  the  tale. 
We  hor>e  that  piggy  learned  a  lesson,  and  be- 
came ever  after  a  less  vain  and  less  curious  piggy. 
But  one  day  a  man  came  from  a  distant  city 
to  buy  a  fine  little  pig  for  a  Thanksgiving  feast. 
Widow  Murphy  did  not  want  to  sell,  but  the 
price  offered  was  too  tempting,  so  she  finally 
agreed  to  sell  him.  H  she  could  have  looked 
into  that  house  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  she  would 
have  seen  piggy  perched  on  a  big  platter  in  tha 
center  of  the  table. 


A  Chance  Acquaintance. 

Miss  Rhody  Run  had  grown  tired  of  her  home 
in  the  stable  loft.  It  used  to  be  very  nice  when  the 
boys  used  to  play  there,  becanse  they  were  sure 
to  drop  crumbs  of  the  cakes  and  crackers  they 
were  forever  eating.  But  now  the  boys  had  gone 
away  to  school,  and  Rhody  felt  very  lonely.  Of 
course  she  had  plenty  to  eat,  for  it  was  not  much 
trouble  to  find  her  way  to  the  feed  box,  and 
John,  the  coachman,  was  not  always  careful  to 
drop  the  lid;  but  Rhody  thought  there  was  some- 
thing in  this  world  to  think  about  besides  eating. 
She  missed  the  merry  laugh  and  the  happy  voices 
of  the  children,  and  she  grew  more  lonely  every 
day.  She  finally  made  up  her  mind  that  she 
would  leave  her  home  in  the  stable,  and  travel 
around  the  country  until  she  found  a  place  where 
she  could  be  happy.  Early  one  morning  she 
started  off,  her  red  flannel  cape  pinned  around 
her  shoulders,  and  an  old  salt  bag,  in  which  she 
carried  all  her  treasures,  slung  over  her  shoulder. 
The  village  was  just  waking  as  she  trotted 
through  the  streets.  The  shop-keepers  were  just 
taking  down  their  shutters  and  opening  their 
doors,  and  as  this  was  all  new  to  Rhody,  she 
174 


A  Chance  Acquaintance.  175 

thonght  she  would  step  inside,  and  see  what  was 
going  on.  She  wanted  to  do  this  very  badly, 
but  she  could  not  get  courage. 

As  the  day  grew  older,  and  the  noise  and  con- 


fusion increased,  she  was  so  frightened  that  she 
hid  herself  under  a  molasses  barrel  that  was 
propped  up  on  the  sidewalk.  Aft-er  things  be- 
gan, to  grow  quiet  again,  she  dared  to  venture 
out  and  continue  her  journey.    She  was  getting 


176  A  Chance  Acquaintance. 

pretty  hungry  by  this  time,  so  she  timidly  crept 
into  a  bakery,  and  succeeded  in  getting  a  good 
meal,  for  the  baker  was  not  the  tidiest  man  in 
the  world,  and  there  were  plenty  of  crumbs  on 
the  floor. 

The  next  day  found  Rhody  wandering  along 
the  river  bank,  where  the  pond  lilies  grew  and 
the  tall  brown  cat-tails  nodded  in  the  wind.  All 
at  once  Rhody  was  startled  by  the  sound  of  a 
strange  voice,  and  turning,  saw  a  spry  young 
frog  at  her  side.  "I  see,"  said  he,  "that  you  are 
admiring  our  river  and  its  pretty,  flowery  banks. 
Let  me  walk  along  with  you,  and  enjoy  it  also, 
for  though  it  is  not  new  to  me,  it  is  ever  beau- 
tiful." 

"What  a  very  nice  creature  this  is,"  thought 
Rhody;  so  she  dropped  him  a  courtesy,  and  told 
him  she  was  very  glad  of  his  company,  and 
Froggy,  pleased  with  her  approval  of  him,  did 
his  level  best  to  be  entertaining.  Rhody  was 
charmed  with  her  companion,  and  the  two 
chatted  as  if  they  had  long  been  friends.  Froggy 
was  very  much  interested  in  Rhody's  story  about 
her  home  in  the  stable  and  her  trips  lo  the  feed 
box  for  food,  and  very  much  surpri£/;d  to  learn 
that  she  had  never  before  seen  the  river.     So 


A  Chance  Acquaintance.  177 

lie  told  all  about  the  wonderful  times  he  had  in 
his  watery  home,  and  she  was  greatly  interested 
in  all  he  had  to  relate.  She  said  it  might  bo  very 
pleasant,  but  she  did  not  think  she  would  like 


it,  although  some  of  her  cousins  lived  in  the 
water  a  great  deal  of  the  time. 

"How  sorry  I  am,"  said  Froggy,  "that  I  can- 
not ask  you  to  dine  with  me;  but  my  larder  con- 


178  A  Chance  Acquaintance. 

tains  no  sucli  food  as  you  would  eat;  worms  and 
fiies  and  tiny  fish  are  not  to  your  liking,  I  am 
sure,  and  then  I  have  to  take  a  sail  on  the  river 
in  order  to  reach  my  home,  and  that  would  not 
please  you  either.  I  am  sorry  that  we  cannot 
enjoy  each  other's  society  longer,  but,  as  it  is 
now  lunch  time,  I  shall  have  to  say  good-bye." 
So,  after  best  wishes  on  both  sides  that  they 
might  some  day  meet  again.  Froggy  boarded  a 
floating  leaf,  and  went  sailing  down  the  stream 
to  his  home,  while  Rhody  continued  on  her 
journey  alone.  She  felt  more  lonesome  than 
ever  after  Froggy  had  left  her,  and  she  almost 
wished  she  had  not  met  him  at  all,  since  he 
could  not  go  with  her  all  the  way.  She  was 
almost  tempted  to  go  back  and  wait  until  he 
came  ashore  again,  but  she  finally  decided  to 
keep  on  her  journey,  hoping  that  chance  might 
again  bring  her  a  friend  that  would  be  as  charm- 
ing as  Sir  Froggy. 


The  Foxes'  Quarrel. 

Fall  had  come  with  its  brown,  withered 
grasses  and  fallen  leaves.  Of  late  Jack  Frost 
had  been  blowing  his  keen  breath  over  hill  and 
dale,  turning  the  leaves  to  crimson  and  gold,  and 
opening  the  chestnut  burrs,  ?o  that  the  ripe  nuts 
might  fall  to  the  earth.  One  night,  when  the 
moon  had  hidden  its  face  behind  a  cloud,  Darius 
Sharp  and  Christopher  Sly,  two  youthful  foxes, 
set  out  to  find  some  game.  Farmer  Tobbin  lived 
not  far  from  the  foxes'  home,  and  this  man's 
good  wife.  Dame  Tobbin,  was  noted  far  and 
near  for  her  beautiful  poultry.  Xow  this  bit  of 
news  had  reached  the  ears  of  Darius  and  Chris- 
topher, and  was  greeted  by  them  with  great  joy. 
Maybe  you  have  guessed  that  these  young  crea- 
tures had  planned  to  try  for  game  at  the  farm- 
er's. Well,  you  are  right.  Only  this  very 
morning  they  had  planned  to  go  as  soon  as  it 
was  night,  if  the  moon  did  not  shine  too  brightly. 
Fortune  seemed  to  favor  them,  and  at  the  ap- 
pointed hour  they  met,  and  proceeded  towards 
the  farm  house.  Darius  took  his  brother  Xerxes 
along  to  help  bring  home  the  game,  if  they 
eliould  be  fortunate  enough  to  secure  more  than 


i8o  Tli(R  Foxes'  Quarrel. 

they  could  carry  themselves.  As  they  hurried 
along,  they  met  many  of  their  friends  going  out 
on  hunting  expeditions,  for  the  night  was  favor- 
able. Presently  they  reached  the  home  of 
Farmer  Tobbin,  and  quietly  and  carefully  en- 
tered the  yard,  knowing  that  the  slightest  noise 
would  be  sure  to  waken  Bruno,  the  faithful 
watch-dog,  and  set  the  cocks  crowing,  and  then 
it  would  be  all  over  with  them,  for  the  farmer 
would  appear  with  his  gun.  As  they  entered 
the  yard,  they  caught  sight  of  a  rooster  which 
had  sauntered  out  to  see  if  it  were  yet  dawn. 
Quick  as  a  wink,  Darius  seized  him,  while 
Christopher  secured  a  plump,  fat  duck  that  had 
forgotten  to  go  inside  to  roost.  In  the  excite- 
ment, poor  little  Xerxes  was  quite  forgotten, 
and  the  friends,  throwing  their  game  across  their 
shoulders,  started  for  home,  well  pleased  with 
their  luck.  Just  as  they  entered  the  woods,  a 
snipe  met  the  eyes  of  Christopher,  but  before 
he  had  captured  it,  Darius  caught  sight  of  it. 
Both  rushed  for  it,  and  seized  it.  Now,  whose 
should  it  be?  Both  claimed  it.  Long  and 
angrily  the  foxes  quarreled.  Christopher  claimed 
it  because  he  saw  it  first,  and  Darius  claimed  it 
because  he  got  hold  of  it  first.    Morning  came. 


New  Year's  Ev<.  i8i 

and  they  were  still  disputing.  Suddenly  Bruno, 
tlie  dog,  appeared  on  the  scene,  and  they  both 
scampered  off  as  fast  as  they  could  go,  leaving 
snipe,  duck  and  chicken  behind.  Bruno  had  a 
kingly  breakfast,  while  the  silly  foxes  had  none. 
"WTien  they  got  back  to  their  homes,  and  sat 
do^Ti  to  think  over  the  matter,  they  were  sorry 
enough  to  think  they  had  been  so  greedy,  for  in 
trying  to  get  all,  each  one  had  lost  the  liUle  he 
had.  Poor  little  Xerxes  had  been  forgotten  in 
their  hurry  to  get  away  with  their  prizes. 


New  Year's  Eve. 

The  snow  lay  deep  upon  the  ground  and 
nestled  among  the  leafless  branches  of  the  forest 
trees,  gleaming  and  sparkling  like  millions  of 
diamonds.  There  was  no  sign  of  its  melting, 
for  the  days  were  bitter  cold,  and  the  nights  even 
colder,  if  anything. 

"Tt  is  the  coldest  winter  for  many  years,"  said 
old  Daddy  Bruin,  and  he  ought  to  know,  for  ho 
had  lived  longer  in  the  forest  than  the  rest  of 
the  animals. 


1 82  New  Year's  Eve. 

Daddy  Bmin  and  his  old  wife  had  built  a 
house  with  the  branches  of  trees  closely  packed 
together,  and  had  covered  the  roof  with  thick 
coatings  of  mud.  There  they  lived,  as  snug  and 
comfortable  as  you  please.  The  wind  whistled 
all  around  them,  but  it  could  not  enter  their 
dwelling  and  bother  them,  so  snugly  were  they 
housed. 

It  was  ^ew  Year's  Eve  in  the  forest,  and 
Daddy  Bruin  had  invited  all  the  inhabitants 
thereof  to  meet  with  him  in  his  home  to  talk 
about  the  past  year.  Beasts  of  every  shape,  size 
and  color  gathered  at  his  call,  and  even  the  wise 
old  owl,  having  heard  of  the  gathering,  came 
with  his  little  son.  "When  they  had  all  arrived, 
Daddy  T\Tapped  himself  in  his  blanket,  and  put 
on  his  Tam  O'Shanter,  and  seating  himself  on  a 
fallen  log,  began  to  talk  to  the  eager  group  in 
his  usual  kind  fashion.  They  all  looked  very 
much  interested,  and  paid  the  best  of  attention 
to  Bruin's  remarks,  even  to  the  tiny  little  mice 
that  sat  close  by  his  feet.  I  suppose  you  would 
like  to  know  what  they  were  talking  about,  so  I 
will  tell  you.  Bruin  was  trying  to  get  them  to 
give  up  their  bad  habits  and  live  good  lives.  He 
said  he  had  decided  not  to  steal  anything  more 


New  Year's  Eve. 


183 


from  the  farmers,  but  would  hereafter  depend 
on  the  fruits  of  field  and  wood  for  his  living. 


One  after  another  the  animals  confessed  that 
they  had  done  lots  of  bad  things  during  the  year, 


1 84 


New  Year's  Eve. 


for  whicli  they  were  sorry.  Even  "Winky  Blinky, 
tlie  owl,  looked  very  grave  as  lie  sat  listening  to 
these  tales  and  confessions  of  evil  doing.  The 
subject  was  so  interesting  that  they  talked  to- 
gether for  hours,  even  far  into  the  night. 


It  was  a  very  solemn  meeting,  and  brought 
good  results,  for 

"There,  beneath  the  swaying  trees, 
As  round  them  played  the  whistling  breeze, 
And  from  the  sky,  the  queen  of  night 
Looked  down  upon  the  pleasing  sight, 
With  many  a  vow  and  promise  true, 
Thev  all  resolved  to  start  anew; 


New  Year's  Eve. 

And,  let  us  hope,  in  after  davs 

They  followed  peaceful,  lionest  ways; 


185 


That  guns  and  snares  and  traps  severe 
Were  not  required  throughout  the  year.'^ 


Bomba,  the  Merry  Old  King. 

There  is  an  island  to  the  south  of  Italy,  called 
Sicily.  The  weather  is  beautiful  there,  and  flow- 
ers and  fruits  grow  most  plentifully.  Here,  so 
the  story  goes,  lived  a  king,  called  Bomba. 
Bomba  was  known  as  the  merry  old  King,  for 
he  loved  to  play  and  romp  and  frolic,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  his  hair  had  grown  white 
as  the  driven  snow,  and  his  beard  had  also  been 
touched  by  time's  frosty  hand. 

He  lived  in  the  royal  palace  with  no  one  but 
his  servants,  more  than  a  dozen  of  whom  were 
kept  to  amuse  and  entertain  this  fun-loving 
sovereign.  The  grounds  around  the  court  were 
all  devoted  to  hie  pleasures.  There  he  played 
tennis,  or  enjoyed  a  game  of  ball,  or  else  rigged 
himself  in  his  suit,  and  became  one  of  the  play- 
ers in  a  jolly  game  of  foot-ball.  If  Bomba  did 
not  feel  like  taking  part  in  the  game,  he  would 
order  his  servants  to  play  in  their  very  best  style; 
perhaps  he  would  be  umpire,  or  perhaps  he 
would  make  himself  comfortable,  and  devote  his 
time  to  enjoying  the  fun. 

Bomba  loved  to  roll  a  hoop.  His  was  made 
of  the  most  beautiful  red  gold,  and  the  stick  he 
i86 


Bomba,  the  Merry  Old  King.  187 

used  for  rolling  it  was  nothing  less  than  his  own 
jeweled  sceptre.  It  was  the  funniest  sight  to  see 
Bomba  dashing  after  the  hoop,  his  crown,  pulled 
tightly  down  on  his  head,  gleaming  in  the  sun- 
light, and  his  purple  gown,  richly  trimmed  with 
ermine,  flying  about  him  in  all  directions.  The 
marbles  he  used  were  made  of  gold,  and  his  tops 
were  of  gold,  too,  set  with  precious  stones  of 
every  kind  and  color.  How  they  sparkled  and 
gleamed  as  the  top  went  spinning  around  and 
around,  and  how  old  Bomba  clapped  his  hands 
and  roared  with  delight. 

Xow  people  thought,  and  they  dared  do  no 
more  than  think,  that  their  king  was  crazy.  You 
see,  if  this  had  reached  Bomba's  ears,  there  is  no 
telling  what  might  have  happened  to  the  person 
who  said  it.  But  still,  the  people  had  their  o^vn 
thoughts,  and  they  felt  very  sad  to  think  their 
king  was  really  nothing  but  a  foolish,  fun-loving 
child.  They  wished  some  one,  wise  and  good, 
might  wear  the  purple  robe,  and  the  jeweled 
crown,  and  use  the  royal  sceptre  for  some  better 
purpose  than  rolling  a  golden  hoop. 

One  morning,  after  Bomba  had  eaten  his 
breakfast,  and  a  good  meal  it  was  too,  he  called 
bis  jester  to  him.    He  told  him  to  summon  his 


1 88  Bomba,  the  Merry  Old  King. 

entertainers,  bid  tbem  dress  in  their  merriest 
costumes,  and  hasten  to  the  great  court  garden. 
The  jester  went  to  do  his  bidding,  and  one  and 
all  wondered  what  scheme  old  Bomba  now  had. 
They  were  all  present  when  the  king  came 
among  them.  He  gazed  at  them,  laughed  mer- 
rily at  their  rigs,  and  told  them  that  now  he  was 
ready  for  a  game  of  leap-frog;  they  should  take 
turns  at  being  the  frog,  while  he  did  the  leaping. 
This  soon  became  a  favorite  sport  with  the  king, 
and  every  day  he  would  spend  a  portion  of  the 
time  in  this  kind  of  play.  People  from  all 
around  came  to  see  this  merry  old  king  indulge 
in  the  games  and  sports  which  children  love. 
But,  alas!  for  the  king;  he  tried  the  game  once 
too  often.  One  day,  when  he  had  been  having 
a  particularly  jolly  game,  and  been  more  reckless 
than  was  his  want,  he  tried  to  jump  over  one  of 
his  serv^ants,  who  was  very  tall,  but  he  missed 
his  leap,  slipped  and  fell,  and  lay  a  helpless 
heap,  never  to  rise  again.  The  courtiers  gath- 
ered around  him,  trying  to  do  something  for 
him,  for  at  first  they  thought  he  was  only 
stunned,  but  all  the  doctors  could  do  nothing, 
and  at  last  they  realized  that  their  king  was  in- 
deed dead.     It  was  a  sad  death  for  the  merry 


A  Friendly  Pair.  189 

old  monarch,  and  all  the  people  pitied  him,  even 
though  he  had  been  nothing  but  a  foolish  old 
king,  and  they  missed  his  merry  laugh  and  his 
kind,  gentle  face.  They  missed  him  more  and 
more  as  the  days  went  by,  and  there  was  no  fun 
in  the  palace.  The  next  king  was  a  very  stem, 
hard  master,  and  they  often  wished  they  were 
again  living  under  merry  old  King  Bomba, 
though  he  did  spend  most  of  his  time  in  idle 
sport 

A  Friendly  Pair. 

Winter  had  given  way  to  spring,  and  the  alli- 
gator had  come  out  of  the  hole  in  the  banks  of 
the  river  in  which  he  had  slept  away  the  chilly 
nights  and  days.  He  felt  so  strong  and  happy 
after  his  long  sleep,  and  having  given  himself  a 
vigorous  shake  and  oft  repeated  stretches,  he 
dived  into  the  water  for  a  cool,  refreshing  bath. 
This  done,  his  thoughts  turned  toward  some- 
thing to  eat,  and  he  opened  and  shut  his  big 
jaws,  as  if  smacking  his  lips,  when  he  thought 
of  the  delightful  prospect,  and  there  arose  be- 
fore him  visions  of  the  shiny-backed  fish  that  he 
would  catch  and  dine  upon. 


IQO 


A  Friendly  Pair. 


In  a  tiny  stream  that  flowed   througli  tlie 
marslies  lived  a  fi^li  that  could  be  found  no- 


where else.    Mr.  Alligator  liked  this  fish  so  well 
that  he  decided  to  go  fishing  in  the  stream,  and 


A  Friendly  Pair.  191 

if  possible  bring  back  a  few  of  these  fine  fat 
fellows  for  his  dinner.  So  he  slung  his  bag  over 
his  shoulder,  and  taking  his  good  stout  walking 
stick,  he  started  off  on  his  tramp. 

A  shaggy  brown  bear,  who  lived  in  the  woods, 
had  just  come  out  of  the  great  hollow  tree  where 
he  had  found  a  resting  place  during  the  winter 
months.  His  store  of  provisions  was  exhausted, 
and  he  thought  it  high  time  to  start  out  in  search 
of  more.  He  blinked  and  winked  at  the  bright 
sunshine,  and  he  smiled  and  nodded  at  the  little 
flowers  that  seemed  to  greet  him  in  their  own 
pretty  way.  But  the  feeling  of  hunger  was 
stronger  than,  the  attractions  of  nature,  and  so 
Mr.  Bear  donned  his  beaver  hat,  and  taking  his 
market  bag  on  his  arm,  he  too  started  out  to  get 
something  to  eat.  He  thought  he  might  be  able 
to  find  a  pile  of  nuts  in  some  bushes  near  the 
river,  for  he  remembered  having  left  some  there 
in  the  fall. 

ITow  it  happened  that  the  stream  where  the 
fish  lived,  and  the  bushes  where  the  nuts  were 
hidden,  were  close  together,  so  it  was  not  strange 
that  the  bear  and  the  alligator  should  come  across 
each  other.  "Good  morning,"  said  the  alligator, 
"are  you  off  on  a  journey?"    ''Not  far,"  said  the 


192  The  Balky  Mule  Outwitted. 

bear,  "I  am  only  taking  a  morning  walk  in  search 
of  something  to  eat.''  "Well,  I  am  on  the  same 
errand,"  said  the  alligator;  "if  our  ways  are  to- 
gether, shall  we  not  walk  together?"  This  plan 
suited  the  bear,  so  they  walked  together  side  by 
side,  and  enjoyed  a  pleasant  stroll. 


The  Balky  Mule  Outwitted. 

Among  a  forest  of  cypress,  fir  and  pine  trees 
stood  the  palace  of  old  Sultan  Allah  Baba,  with 
its  cupolas  and  domes  towering  high  above  the 
wilderness  of  trees.  It  w^as  built  of  white  mar- 
ble, and  kept  always,  at  the  order  of  the  Sultan, 
gleamingly  white  and  beautiful.  The  windows 
were  of  the  most  gorgeous  colors,  through  which 
the  sun  brightly  shone,  sending  rainbow-like 
shadows  in  and  around  the  rooms  of  the  palace. 
At  night  the  place  was  lighted  by  jeweled, 
studded  lamps,  which  were  hung  from  the  ceil- 
ings  by  great  silken  cords. 

Allah  Eaba  had  once  been  a  tall,  stately  young 
fellow,  but  the  happy,  easy  life  he  had  led,  to- 
gether with  the  many  dainties  that  daily  filled 
his  table,  had  added  many  pounds  to  the  Sultan's 


The  Balky  Mule  Outwitted.  193 

freight  He  liked  this  change  in  his  appearance 
as  little  as  he  did  the  snow  white  beard  that  had 
taken  the  place  of  the  jet  black  whiskers. 

The  great  cap  that  adorned  his  head  covered 
the  growth  of  snowy  hair,  but  no  such  device 
hid  the  whiskers  from  sight. 

"I  am  growing  old/'  mused  the  Sultan,  "and 
that  will  never  do.  I  must  find  some  plan  to 
bring  me  back  my  youth  again.  I'll  dye  my 
whiskers,  but  how  can  I  rid  myself  of  all  this 
load  of  flesh?" 

Allah  Baba  thought  and  thought,  but  all  in 
vain.  Finally  he  sent  for  one  of  the  wise  men 
of  his  court,  and  stating  the  case  to  him,  asked 
what  he  should  do. 

"Your  case  is  easily  settled,  your  Highness," 
said  he.  "I  am  sure  you  would  soon  be  as  slen- 
der as  a  young  willow  if  you  would  oidy  ride  a 
mule." 

"A  delightful  plan  that,"  said  the  Sultan.  "I 
will  reward  you  richly  for  your  noble  efforts." 

Xo  time  was  lost  in  buying  the  mule,  and  of 
course  they  tried  to  select  the  very  best  in  all 
the  land.  The  Sultan  came  from  the  palace  to 
examine  the  new  treasure,  and  smiled  approv- 
ingly at  the  animal's  long  ears  and  shaggy  coat^ 


194  '^^e  Balky  Mule  Outwitted. 

^T^ow  ril  mount  him,"  said  Allah  Baba,  "and 
go  dashing  away  on  my  first  ride.'' 

It  was  easy  enough  to  mount,  but  the  dashing 
away  did  not  follow,  l^ot  one  inch  would  the 
mule  move.  Allah  Baba  coaxed  and  pulled,  but 
for  nought;  his  mule  would  not  stir. 

"Cut  me  a  stick,"  roared  Allah;  "I'll  teach 
him  a  lesson  or  two."  But  the  stick,  likewise, 
proved  useless.     At  last  Allah  grew  desperate. 

"A  fortune,"  said  he,  "to  the  man  who  makes 
this  miserable  beast  move!" 

"I'll  earn  it  in  no  time,  your  Highness,"  said 
one  of  his  sen^ants.  Bight  to  work  he  went,  and 
after  several  hours'  labor  he  rigged  the  trouble- 
some mule  in  a  complete  set  of  sails.  Then, 
again,  Allah  mounted  his  steed,  and  away  they 
went,  this  time  without  the  least  trouble,  for 
old  longears  had  to  go,  whether  he  would  or  not. 
The  wind  filled  the  sails,  and  the  mule  was  sur- 
prised at  himself  to  think  he  could  go  so  fast. 
As  they  sped  along  over  the  road,  everything 
and  everybody  fled  before  them,  for  they  knew 
not  w^hat  to  make  of  the  queer  looking  object. 
It  was  a  lively  ride  for  the  old  Sultan,  but  what 
pleased  him  best  of  all,  was  the  conquering  of 
the  balky  mule,  and  he  was  really  conquered, 


Fun  in  the  Woods.  fg^ 

too.  For  several  days  the  old  Sultan  took  his 
daily  ride  on  his  sail-rigged  beast,  but  one  day 
he  decided  to  try  him  without  all  these  things, 
so  he  told  his  servants  to  bring  him  to  the  door 
with  nothing  but  a  saddle  and  bridle  on.  They 
obeyed,  but  were  quite  sure  that  when  their 
master  attempted  to  make  the  mule  go,  he  would 
again  show  his  ugly  temper.  Great  was  their 
surprise,  therefore,  to  see  him  start  off  at  just 
as  rapid  a  rate  as  ever,  as  soon  as  their  master 
mounted  his  back,  showing  that  he  had  discov- 
ered that  the  Sultan  was  master  of  the  situation. 
He  never  again  was  obliged  to  use  the  device 
which  had  been  so  useful  to  him,  but  always 
found  his  mule  ready  to  obey  his  slightest  word. 


Fun  in  the  Woods. 

Rex  Wolf  and  his  friend,  Teddy  Fox,  had 
played  catch  with  the  fallen  blossoms  until  they 
were  weary;  then  they  played  a  game  of  hokey, 
but  found  it  no  fun.  After  this  they  tried  hide 
and  go  seek  and  leap-frog,  but  nothing  seemed 
to  please  them.     So  they  had  seated  themselves 


196 


Fun  in  the  Woods. 


on  the  soft  green  grass,  and  both  their  little 
heads  were  busy  trying  to  think  what  next  to 
do.     To  be  quiet  was  out  of  the  question,  and 
no  nice  kind  of  fun  seemed  to  suggest  itself. 
Foxy  suddenly  clapped  his  hands  with  glee. 


"I  have  it,  Eex,"  said  he.  "Do  you  remember 
the  great  oak  log  that  the  woodcutters  left  here 
last  week?  AVe  will  put  a  board  across,  and 
have  as  fine  a  see-saw  as  you  or  I  could  want." 
"Good  for  you,  Teddy,"  said  his  friend.     **I 


Fun  in  the  Woods.  197 

knew  jou   would   think   of   something   before 
long." 

Off  these  two  youngsters  scampered,  and  hav- 
ing found  a  fallen  limb  near  at  hand,  they  soon 
had  it  placed  across  the  stump,  and  were  taking 
a  fine  ride.  Up  and  down  they  went,  thoroughly 
enjoying  this  new  kind  of  sport. 

Just  about  this  time,  a  fat,  black  bear  came 
strolling  along. 

"Give  me  a  ride.  Foxy?''  said  he. 

"Yes,  if  you  like,"  said  Foxy,  '^ex  and  I 
will  get  on  one  side,  and  you  can  get  on  the 
other." 

Pretty  soon  they  were  all  ready  to  start  again. 
Rex  and  Teddy  got  on  one  end,  and  away  they 
frent  up  in  the  air,  just  as  soon  as  the  old  black 
bear  took  his  seat  on  the  other,  and  there  they 
stayed,  too,  for  the  old  bear  was  so  heavy  that 
they  could  not  lift  him  up.  "This  won't  do," 
said  Teddy.  "You  are  too  heavy  for  us."  So 
he  called  to  a  little  porcupine,  who  was  watch- 
ing the  fun.  "Get  on,"  Prickly,  and  help  us 
balance  old  Fatty."  So  Prickly  crawled  up,  and 
they  just  balanced  the  old  fellow.  Then  they 
had  ihe  greatest  fun;  now  up,  now  down,  until 
at  last  they  got  dizzy  and  tired,  too.    Then  they 


198 


Fun  in  the  Woods. 


thouglit  they  would  play  a  trick  on  the  old  bear, 
so  the  three  little  fellows  all  jumped  off  to- 
gether, letting  old  Fatty  down  rather  suddenly. 
But  he  was  such  a  good-natured  fellow  that  he 
did  not  mind  it,  and  invited  them  to  go  home 


with  him,  and  they  joyfully  accepted  the  invi- 
tation. 

'Now  Blacky's  sister  had  at  one  time  found  an 
accordion  that  some  people  had  left  in  the  woods, 
and  she  kept  it  hidden  in  the  old  hollow  oak 
where  she  lived.  Blacky  had  told  his  friends  of 
this  treasure,  so  when  they  had  chatted  awhile, 


The  Monks'  Victory.  199 

Teddy  Fox  begged  Miss  Blacky  to  play  for  them. 
She  willingly  consented,  and  seating  herself 
upon  a  log,  began  to  play  with  all  her  might. 
It  was  not  long  before  quite  a  merry  party  had 
gathered  on  the  green,  and  among  them  were 
two  bright  little  hares.  They  began  to  dance  a 
jig  to  the  lively  music  that  was  being  played, 
and  soon  others  joined  them,  and  soon  all  were 
enjoying  a  good  jolly  dance. 

Just  before  the  party  broke  up,  and  they  went 
away,  the  bear  proposed  that  they  should  sit 
down  and  chat  awhile.  Then  he  suggested  that 
they  should  form  a  sort  of  a  club,  and  have  a 
meeting  every  week  in  the  old  woods.  He  said 
his  sister  would  learn  how  to  play  some  new 
pieces,  especially  dance  music,  and  he  thought 
they  could  have  a  fine  time  together.  This  they 
all  thought  would  be  great  fun,  and  so  they  de- 
cided to  meet  each  Tuesday  at  five  o'clock  for 
a  good  old  frolic. 


The  Monks'  Victory. 

The  pale  moon  never  shed  her  light  nor  the 
stars  never  twinkled  over  a  more  sorrowful  spot 


200  The  Monks'  Victory. 

than  the  little  village  of  Thimble  Top.  Every- 
thing was  once  so  bright  and  liappy,  and  care 
and  trouble  were  strangers,  but  now  they  had 
come  among  the  villagers  as  most  unwelcome 
guests,  and  there  they  seemed  to  mean  to 
Btay. 

The  trouble  was  caused  by  Diddle  Dee,  a 
wicked,  merciless  tyrant,  who  captured  little 
children,  and  put  them  to  cruel  tortures.  He 
lived  in  a  mighty  castle,  so  strongly  barred  and 
bolted  that  no  one  could  enter.  There  was 
scarcely  a  house  in  the  village  but  had  suffered 
from  the  ravages  of  this  dreadful  Diddle  Dee. 
Mothers,  who  thought  they  watched  their  little 
ones  most  carefully,  turned  their  backs  but  for 
an  instant,  and  the  child  was  gone — and  not  a 
trace  could  be  four»d  of  the  thief  or  the  captive. 
How  hei  bore  the  child  off  to  his  castle  without 
being  seen  by  a  soul,  was  a  mystery  no  one 
could  solve.  Matters  kept  growing  worse  and 
worse,  and  no  help  could  be  found. 

But  one  day  two  pious  monks  visited  the  vil- 
lage on  a  pilgrimage.  As  they  rode  through  the 
streets,  news  of  the  sad  goings  on  reached  their 
ears  and  filled  their  hearts  with  deep  sorrow. 
They  were  wise,  as  they  were  good,  and  the;^ 


The  Monks'  Victory.  201 

went  straiglit  to  work  to  find  some  way  out  of 
tlie  difficulty. 

"We  will  go  boldly  to  Diddle  Dee/'  said  one 
of  the  monks,  "and  see  if  our  sacred  calling  will 
not  have  some  weight  with  him." 

I^ow  it  happened  that  Diddle  Dee  dreaded 
nothing  so  much  as  the  ill  will  of  these  holy 
men,  so  when  they  rode  up  to  the  castle,  he  re- 
ceived them  very  graciously.  The  two  monks 
dismounted,  tied  their  beasts  to  a  couple  of  trees, 
and  entered  the  house  of  Diddle  Dee.  In  the 
room  into  which  he  led  them  burned  a  bright 
fire,  and  over  the  fire  swung  an  enormous  kettle 
filled  with  water. 

"A  boiling  pot  for  the  helpless  little  ones," 
thought  one  of  the  fathers,  "but  it  has  served  its 
day  for  that  use — only  one  more  victim  shall 
ever  fill  it,  and  that  is  Diddle  Dee  himself." 
With  that  he  laid  hold  of  the  wicked  fellow, 
and  with  the  aid  of  his  brother  monk,  plunged 
him  into  the  pot. 

The  water  was  hot,  and  Diddle  Dee  screamed 
for  mercy,  but  the  monks  paid  no  heed  to  him 
until  he  was  scared  almost  to  death. 

^^lSTow,"  said  the  monk  who  had  seized  him, 
"are  you  willing  to  promise  to  leave  this  country 


202  The  Monks'  Victory. 

and  your  wicked  work  forever?  We  will  take 
you  to  a  place  where  you  can  do  much  good, 
and  perhaps  blot  out  some  of  your  wicked  past." 

Diddle  Dee  v/as  only  too  glad  to  promise  any- 
thing, and  when  he  was  lifted  out  of  the  pot, 
stood  before  the  fathers  a  humbled  and  sadder 
man. 

The  monks  tied  Diddle  Dee  to  his  own  iron 
bed,  for  they  had  no  wish  to  lose  their  prize. 
Then  they  locked  around  to  see  what  they  could 
find.  Quantities  of  good  things  filled  the  larder, 
and  they  soon  had  the  air  heavy  with  the  de- 
licious odor  of  cooking  food.  When  all  was 
finished,  one  of  the  monks  rode  to  the  village  to 
tell  the  anxious  villagers  of  their  victory,  and  to 
bid  them  celebrate  the  event  with  them  in  feast- 
ing. The  feast  which  the  monks  had  prepared 
was  truly  wonderful  and  surpassed  anything  that 
had  ever  been  held  in  the  village  before.  It 
was  indeed  an  occasion  for  great  joy,  since  now 
the  village  was  free  from  the  ravages  of  this 
teiTible  creature,  whose  evil  deeds  had  made  life 
almost  a  burden,  especially  to  those  who  had 
little  ones  in  their  families;  therefore  it  is  not 
surprising  that  the  monks  found  people  so  ready 
to  accept  their  invitations.     Everybody  came, 


The  Brownies'  Kind  Deed.  203 

old  and  young,  and  the  place  was  crowded. 
Speeches  were  made,  thanks  were  offered,  and 
cheer  after  cheer  went  up  for  the  brave,  good 
monks.  Happiness  once  more  reigned  in  the 
village,  and  Diddle  Dee  found  that  good  deeds 
brought  more  satisfaction  than  cruelties.  This 
was  a  great  victory,  and  the  people  never  forgot 
the  kindness  of  the  monks. 


The  Brownies'  Kind  Deed. 

Little  Peter,  one  of  the  Brownies,  had 
perched  himself  on  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree  to 
think.  His  tiny,  round  face  did  not  wear  its 
usual  smile,  and  his  bright,  black  eyes  had  a 
worried  look.     Young  Toby  Tumble,   passing 

through  the  wood<5,  saw 
his  little  friend,  Peter, 
and  scrambled  up  along- 
side of  him.  "You  look 
blue,  little  Peter,"  said 
he,  ^^lave  things  gone 
wrong  with  you?  Tell 
me  what  the  matter  is, 
and  maybe  I  can  help 
you." 


204  The  Brownies'  Kind  Deed. 

"You  are  very  kind,'^  said  little  Peter,  ''but  it 
is  not  about  myself  I  feel  so  grieved,  but  about 
the  Widow  Good  and  her  two  little  children.  To- 
morrow is  Christmas,  you  know,  and  I  heard  her 
say  that  she  had  nothing  for  them,  so  there  is  no 
prospect  of  a  good  time  at  the  Good  cottage." 

Toby  Tumble  was  looking  grave  himself  by 
this  time,  and  he  sat  with  his  face  buried  in  his 
tiny  hands.  "I  have  it,''  said  he,  "they'll  do  it, 
I'm  sure,"  and  he  clapped  his  hands  in  glee. 
*'Do  what?"  said  Peter.  "Help  us,  to  be  sure. 
"We  will  call  all  the  Brownies  together,  tell  them 
all  about  the  matter,  and  I  am  sure  that  neither 
Widow  Good  or  her  little  ones  will  want  for 
anything  to  make  up  a  Christmas  dinner." 

^o  time  was  to  be  lost  in  carrying  out  their 
plans,  and  so  they  hastened  out  to  find  their 
comrades.  Of  course  the  good  Brownies  were 
all  glad  to  help  them,  for  they  delight  to  help 
good  people. 

Their  first  movement  was  to  borrow  a  large 
basket  from  Greengoods,  the  grocer.  The 
Brownies  had  no  money,  so  they  decided  to  fill 
the  basket  from  the  shop,  and  pay  the  master  in 
work,  for  Brownies,  you  know,  are  very  clever 
creatures,  and  can  turn  a  hand  at  anything.   The 


2o6  The  Brownies'  Kind  Deed. 

little  fellows  could  scarcely  move  the  basket 
when  filled,  but  all  worked  together,  and  by  and 
by  they  had  it  mounted  on  sticks,  and  then,  ^Ye 
or  six  on  a  side,  they  bore  it  along  very  com- 
fortably. 

How  proud  they  felt  as  they  looked  at  this 
well-filled  basket!  As  they  went  along,  they 
could  see  peeping  from  the  covering  of  the 
basket,  links  of  sausage,  a  fish,  and  the  black 
feet  of  the  big  turkey  that  was  to  be  such  a  treat 
to  the  children  on  the  morrow. 

They  were  very  tired  when  they  reached  tho 
widow's  house,  so  they  sat  down  to  rest  until 
morning.  When  light  came,  and  all  the  busy 
little  fellows  had  hidden  themselves  where  they 
could  see  and  not  be  seen,  Toby  Tumble  knocked 
at  the  door.  He  had  only  just  time  to  run  out 
of  sight  himself,  when  the  "vvidow  opened  it. 
The  Brownies  had  worked  hard,  but  they  felt 
fully  rewarded  when  they  saw  the  joy  and  happi- 
ness on  the  poor  woman's  face,  and  they  decided 
that  they  would  remember  her  again  the  next 
year,  and  that  they  would  fully  repay  the  grocer 
for  all  his  goods,  and  would  do  it  so  quickly  and 
thoroughly  that  he  would  never  miss  them. 

You  may  be  sure  the  widow  was  very  happy 


A  Pair  of  Pets.  itoj 

wherL  she  unpacked  that  basket,  and  found  all 
the  good  things,  for  she  felt  that  now  she  could 
give  her  children  a  little  pleasure  on  Christmas 
day.  She  could  not  imagine  who  it  could  be 
that  had  remembered  her  and  her  little  ones, 
but  her  little  son  Kob  said  he  was  sure  it  was 
the  Brownies. 


A  Pair  of  Pets. 

BR0W^^  Peggy,  the  horse,  did  not  like  the 
strange  yelping  and  squealing  that  disturbed  her 
rest.  It  seemed  to  come  from  right  beneath  the 
feed  box,  and  she  feared  to  move,  lest  she  should 
tread  on  the  cause  of  all  the  noise,  for  she  knew 
by  the  sound  that  it  was  alive.  The  stable  was 
too  dark  to  see,  and  she  had  to  wait  until  Michael 
came  and  threw  open  the  great  doors.  Then 
Peggy  stepped  back  in  her  stall,  and  looking 
down,  she  saw,  huddled  close  together,  four  of 
the  cutest  little  brown  puppies  you  ever  saw. 
They  twisted  around  and  around,  and  rolled  over 
each  other  in  the  most  restless  manner. 

When  Michael  came  with  Peggy's  breakfast, 
he  too  heard  the  queer  noise,  and  looking  over 


2o8  A  Pair  of  Pets. 

the  feed  box,  he  spied  the  little  strangers.  "Well, 
if  you  are  not  about  as  cute  and  cunning  as  any- 
thing I  ever  saw/'  said  he.  "I  shall  keep  one  of 
you  little  chaps,  and  I  think  it  will  be  you,  old 
fellow,  for  I  like  your  snowy  nose."  So  spoke 
Michael,  as  he  leaned  over  and  picked  up  one 
of  the  tiny  puppies,  the  tip  of  whose  nose  was 
snowy  white. 

Michael  had  some  little  brothers  and  sisters  at 
home,  and  so  one  day,  when  the  puppies  were 
old  enough  to  leave  their  mother,  and  he  was 
ready  for  his  homeward  walk,  he  remembered 
the  little  white  nosed  pup,  and  thought  how 
much  the  children  would  enjoy  playing  with  it, 
so  puppy  was  tucked  away  in  Michael's  pocket 
and  taken  to  l\is  new  quarters,  where  his  happy 
new  life  began.  The  children  were  delighted 
with  their  new  playmate,  and  did  all  in  their 
power  to  make  him  welcome. 

They  had  another  pet,  that  had  held  full  swa;y 
before  the  puppy  came,  and  that  was  a  little  red 
pig.  He  was  always  a  very  tiny  pig,  and  had 
grown  so  little  that  he  still  looked  like  a  baby 
pig,  although  many  months  had  gone  by  sinc^ 
his  entrance  into  the  world. 

Piggy  did  not  like  the  idea  of  a  rival,  ancj 


Jack,  the  Giant  of  the  Sea.  209 

behaved  very  cross  and  ugly,  but  the  children, 
scolded  him,  and  talked  to  him,  and  by  and  by, 
when  he  had  gotten  over  his  pouting,  he  visited 
the  little  dog,  and  before  very  long  they  were 
the  best  friends  in  the  world. 


Jack,  the  Giant  of  the  Sea. 

Many,  many  years  ago  there  lived  a  great  and 
powerful  giant,  whose  name  was  Jack.  He  was 
as  tall  as  some  of  the  houses  in  the  village  where 
he  made  his  home,  and  so  strong  and  powerful 
that  the  earth  trembled  when  he  walked.  His 
cane  was  the  trunk  of  a  tree  which  he  had  torn 
up  by  the  roots  and  stripped  of  its  branches.  Do 
you  wonder  the  people  trembled  with  fear  even 
at  his  name?  His  home  was  not  built  of  wood 
or  bricks,  like  ours.  He  lived  in  a  cave  down  by 
the  sea,  and  against  this  cave  the  waves  beat  daj' 
and  night.  Old  Jack  loved  to  hear  them  surge 
against  his  rocky  home,  and  he  would  chuckle 
with  delight  when  a  heavy  storm  sent  the  break- 
ers dashing  over  his  cave.  "Ha,  ha!"  roared  he, 
"more  fun  for  old  Jack.     The  fishermen  will 


2IO  Jack,  the  Giant  of  the  Sea. 

think  that  the  fury  of  the  waves  carried  off  their 
nets,  but  this  old  chap  knows  better;  he  knows 


who  stole  their  nets  full  of  fish  and  carried  them 
home  on  his  back.  It  was  old  Jack.  Ha,  ha,  ha!'' 


Jack,  the  Giant  of  the  Sea.  211 

By  and  by  this  old  giant  grew  so  wicked  that 
he  would  watch  from  the  door  of  his  cave  until 
he  saw  the  fishing  boats  near  the  shore.  Then 
into  the  water  he  would  plunge,  and  boldly  grab 
a  net  filled  with  the  labor  of  a  long,  hard  night, 
throw  it  over  his  back,  and  bear  it  to  his  cave, 
and  the  poor  fishermen  could  do  nothing  but 
work  bravely  to  save  their  own  lives. 

The  fishermen  suffered  from  the  bold,  bad 
deeds  of  this  mcked  Jack,  but  they  were  not  the 
only  ones.  "Fish  is  good  food,"  said  Jack,  ^'but 
sometimes  I  relish  a  good  fat  ox."  Then  it  was 
that  he  would  leave  his  cave,  and  with  his  long, 
powerful  strides  hasten  to  the  fields  where  the 
cattle  were  grazing.  It  took  him  no  time  to 
throw  an  ox  over  his  shoulder  and  bear  it  away 
to  his  cave.  When  he  wanted  a  change,  he 
would  pick  up  a  sheep  and  bear  it  home  in  one 
hand.  One  day  Jack  made  up  his  mind  to  go 
fishing.  "A  fine  fish  I'll  have  for  my  supper," 
said  he.  A  tall  sappling  served  him  for  a  pole, 
and  a  rope  that  had  been  tied  to  a  cow  he  had 
stolen  the  night  before  answered  for  a  line,  and 
he  made  his  hook  from  a  huge  bolt,  bending  i- 
into  shape  with  his  strong  fingers.  He  50ci# 
pulled  in  a  large  salmon,  and  threw  out  his  lin^ 


212  Jack,  the  Giant  of  the  Sea. 

for  another  trial.     Presently  he  felt  something 
pull  on  the  line.    He  had  never  before  felt  such 


^  tug,  and  he  felt  that  whatever  there  was  at  the 
pther  end  of  the  line,  it  was  pulling  him  more 


Jack,  the  Giant  of  the  Sea, 


213 


strongly  than  he  could  pull  it.    Before  he  could 
save  himself,  a  huge  sea  monster  rose  above  the 


^J 

1    .^^.C'             ^ 

ri?^ 


214  A  Thanksgiving  Tale. 

surface  of  tlie  water,  and  jerked  him  from  the 
rock,  and  drew  him  out  faster  and  faster  into  the 
sea.  The  people  of  the  village  rushed  to  the 
shore,  and  cheered  long  and  loud  when  they 
saw  Jack  in  such  a  sorry  plight.  They  never 
saw  him  again,  for  the  waves  and  the  monster 
bore  him  away  farther  and  still  farther,  until  at 
last  he  was  lost  to  sight.  If  he  did  not  drown, 
we  hope  he  learned  to  be  a  better  giant 


A  Thanksgiving  Tale. 

Old  UjS-cle  ISTathan  Howe  and  his  wife 
Debby  lived  in  a  tiny  farm  house,  painted  white. 
The  shutters  were  green,  and  in  summer  a  rose 
climbed  up  the  sides  of  the  house,  almost  cover- 
ing this  little  dwelling  place  with  its  leaves  and 
dark  red  roses.  People  driving  by  leaned  from 
their  carriages  to  take  a  peep  at  Uncle  Xathan's 
cottage,  and  they  smiled,  as  though  pleased  with 
the  sight  that  had  rewarded  their  efforts. 

But  now  the  bloom  had  left  the  rose,  and  the 
leaves  had  fallen  one  by  one,  until  only  a  few 
yellow  stragglers  lingered. 


A  Thanksgiving  Tale.  215 

Uncle  Nathan  and  Aunt  Debby,  as  everybody 
called  them,  lived  all  alone  in  their  tiny  white 
house,  for  they  had  neither  kith  nor  kin  to  share 
it  with  them.  Thanksgiving  Day  was  drawing 
near,  and  Aunt  Debby  was  busy  making  pump- 
kin pies,  and  plum  pudding,  frying  doughnuts, 
and  revelling  in  cooking  to  her  heart's  content. 
"Such  a  pile  of  stuff,"  thought  she,  "for  two  old 
people  to  get  rid  of.  Of  course  I  shall  send 
some  to  the  minister,  and  some  to  Dr.  Brown, 
but  then  there  will  be  enough  left  to  feed  a  big 
family."  And  this  last  idea  set  Aunt  Debby  to 
thinking  harder  than  ever. 

When  Uncle  Nathan  came  in  to  his  dinner, 
he  found  his  good  wife  with  a  very  thoughtful 
face. 

"How  does  the  poultry  look,  Nathan?"  said 
she.  Uncle  Nathan  smiled  at  the  question,  for 
the  poultry  fell  to  his  care,  and  Aunt  Debby 
never  bothered  about  it. 

"What  is  in  the  air  now,  old  wife?"  said  he, 
somewhat  surprised. 

"Answer  my  question,  and  I'll  tell  you,"  she 
replied. 

Now  was  Uncle  Nathan's  turn  to  look  grave. 
"They   are   looJdn'    poorly,    Debby,"    said   he, 


2i6  A  Thanksgiving  Tale. 

"poorer  than  I  ever  saw  'em  lookin'  afore.  But 
there  is  a  prime  young  gobbler  and  a  duck  or 
two,  as  pretty  as  you'd  want  to  see." 

'Now  I'll  tell  you  a  secret.  These  wise  fowls 
had  determined  not  to  be  the  victims  of  Uncle 
!N^athan's  axe,  and  furnish  somebody's  Thanks- 
giving dinner,  so  they  had  gone  without  the  food 
Uncle  Nathan  scattered  for  them  for  so  long 
that  now  they  were  the  weakest,  sickest,  most 
miserable  looking  things  you  could  imagine. 
But  there  was  a  wilful  young  turkey  and  a  pair 
of  silly  ducks,  who  said  they  had  no  fear  of  the 
axe,  and  could  keep  away  from  it. 

"That's  plenty,"  said  Aunt  Debby,  when  she 
had  heard  of  the  gobbler  and  two  ducks.  "ISTow 
I'll  tell  you  my  plans.  I've  cooked  more  than 
enough  for  us  two,  Xathan,  and  I  want  to  ask 
the  Widow  Love  and  her  six  children  here  to 
Thanksgiving  dinner.  The  dinner  will  do  them 
all  good,  and  I  calculate  we  will  get  enough 
happiness  out  of  it  to  last  us  a  week. 

"And  my  three  best  fowls  are  for  poor  Widow 
Love  and  her  sLx  youngsters,  hey?  Well,  I  call 
that  a  pretty  good  disposal  to  make  of  them, 
old  wife,  and  I  guess  if  you  can  make  enough 
pies  and  puddings  and  cakes  to  fill  'em  up,  I 


Fiddle-Cum-Fee .  217 

can  do  my  part  with  the  poultry  and  garden 
stuff." 

And  so  the  thing  was  settled,  and  when  milk- 
ing was  done  that  night,  Uncle  l^athan  and  Aunt 
Debby  stepped  across  to  the  widow's,  to  ask  if 
they  were  willing  to  come.  To  be  sure  they 
were,  and  there  never  was  a  more  joyful  Thanks- 
giving than  this.  They  all  ate  till  they  could 
hardly  move,  and  went  home  tired  and  sleepy, 
but  very  happy. 


Fiddle-Cum-Fee. 

A  LONG,  long  time  ago  there  was  a  little  vil- 
lage called  Harmony.  It  lay  between  two  tall 
mountains  that  sheltered  it  from  the  storms  and 
tempests  that  swept  over  the  neighboring  towns. 
A  beautiful  stream  flowed  into  the  valley  below, 
watering  the  earth  and  causing  it  to  be  very 
fertile.  The  grass  grew  very  green  and  beautiful 
in  this  tiny  village,  and  the  fruit  and  flowers 
were  larger  and  more  abundant  than  anywhere 
around.  The  people  loved  their  homes,  and 
spared  no  pains  or  time  in  making  them  as  beau- 
tiful as  they  possibly  could. 


2l8 


Fiddle-Cum-Fee, 


But  one  day  sorrow  came  to  the  village.  Old 
Fiddle-Cum-Fee  had  heard  of  the  beauties  of 
the  village  of  Harmony,  and  had  left  his  home 
some  hundred  miles  away  to  visit  this  much- 


talked-of  place.  Fiddle-Cum-Fee  was  a  great 
and  powerful  giant,  feared  and  dreaded  by  all 
who  heard  of  him.  He  started  off  one  morning 
bright  and  early,  so  as  to  reach  the  village  while 


Fiddle-Cum-Fee.  219 

tHe  day  was  yet  young,  and  lie  could  do  tliis 
easily,  for  lie  wore  shoes  that  carried  him  many 
miles  at  a  single  stride.  Most  of  the  villagers 
were  seated  at  their  tables,  quietly  enjoying  their 
morning  meal,  when,  all  of  a  sudden,  the  tables 
commenced  to  rock,  plates  jumped  up  and  down, 
cups  danced  in  the  saucers,  and  even  the  houses 
seemed  to  tremble  and  shake.  The  people  looked 
at  each  other  in  silence,  feeling  sure  that  an 
earth-quake  had  come  to  destroy  their  little  vil- 
lage, and  perhaps  bring  death  to  many  of  them. 
Then  they  all  rushed  to  their  doors,  and  looked 
out,  and  then  hastened  out  of  doors,  and  were 
terrified  to  see  the  terrible  giant  coming  through 
the  street.  It  was  his  great  weight  that  was 
shaking  the  village,  and  his  mighty  laugh,  when 
he  saw  the  fear  and  wonder  of  the  people, 
sounded  like  a  great  clap  of  thunder,  *'Good 
people,"  said  he,  as  he  halted  in  the  center  of 
the  town,  "I  am  Fiddle-Cum-Fee;  use  me  well, 
and  I  will  be  your  friend,  but  use  me  badly,  and 
you  will  see  how  Fiddle-Cum-Fee  can  repay  your 
bad  treatment.  I  am  tired  of  my  mountain 
home,  and  need  a  change.  Your  village  seems 
to  suit  my  purpose,  so  I  am  come  to  dwell  among 
you  until  such  time  as  it  seems  best  to  me  to  go 


220  Fiddle- Cum- Fee. 

away.  I  have  had  nothing  to  eat  as  yet  this 
morning,  so  bring  on  your  very  best  meat,  your 
whitest  bread,  your  choicest  fowl  and  finest  fruit, 
and  I  will  give  you  a  show  of  a  fine  healthy 
appetite.  If  some  one  will  play  sweet  music, 
the  time  will  pass  more  pleasantly/'  Almost 
paralyzed  mth  fear,  the  people  hurried  away  to 
do  his  bidding,  while  Fiddle-Cum-Fee  seated 
himself  under  an  apple  tree,  for  no  house  could 
possibly  hold  him.  It  seemed  as  though  the  ter- 
rible monster  would  never  get  enough,  and  all 
were  kept  busy  satisfying  his  demands.  Break- 
fast over,  Fiddle-Cum-Fee  wandered  back  to  the 
mountain  side  to  take  a  nap,  for  he  felt  smoth- 
ered in  the  little  village.  When  he  was  gone, 
the  people  put  their  heads  together,  and  tried  to 
think  of  some  way  in  which  they  could  get  rid 
of  him,  for  they  kncAV  that  they  could  never 
supply  his  w^ants.  Plan  after  plan  was  suggested 
and  discussed,  and  at  last  they  decided  to  cook 
him  a  great  kettle  full  of  soup.  Their  idea  was 
to  prepare  a  fine  lot  of  soup,  place  in  it  a  drug, 
the  fumes  of  which  would  overpower  him  as  he 
leaned  over  to  eat.  When  he  became  drowsy, 
they  intended  to  pitch  him  over  into  the  soup, 
and  scald  him  to  death.     Then  they  w^ould  put 


Fiddle-Cum-Fee. 


221 


him  on  a  raft,  and  set  him  adrift  on  the  stream, 
letting  the  current  bear  him  off  to  sea.  Some 
of  the  kinder-hearted  people  could  not  bear  to 
do  this  cruel  act,  even  to  so  great  an  enemy,  and 


so  thej  finally  persuaded  the  rest  to  rig  up  a 
monstrous  balloon,  and  when  he  was  drowsy 
from  the  effects  of  the  drug,  they  fastened  him 
in  a  basket  and  sent  him  up.  Higher  and  higher 
the  balloon  rose,  until,  finally,  it  was  lost  to 


222  The  Back  Yard  Party. 

sight  Then  suddenly  they  saw  it  appear  again, 
and  they  saw  it  coming  nearer  and  nearer  to 
the  earth.  They  were  greatly  frightened  for 
fear  it  would  drop  on  the  land,  but  a  favoring 
breeze  bore  it  out  to  sea,  and  presently  it  sunk, 
never  to  be  seen  again. 


The  Back  Yard  Party. 

Mrs.  Mouse  laid  down  her  pen  and  breathed 
a  sigh  of  relief.  She  had  been  busily  at  work 
getting  out  invitations  for  a  grand  garden  party 
in  the  back  yard,  and  now  she  had  finished.  The 
field  mice,  the  mice  at  the  bam  and  wagon  house, 
and  of  course  the  house  mice,  all  were  invited. 
Mrs.  Mouse  hoped  that  everything  might  be 
pleasant.  The  mice  at  the  house  were  rather  in- 
clined to  hold  themselves  a  little  above  the  field 
mice,  why  she  could  not  tell,  for  she  was  quite 
sure  one  family  was  as  good  as  the  other,  and 
she  had  no  wish  to  slight  either. 

Mrs.  Mouse  felt  all  of  a  flutter  when  the  night 
of  the  party  arrived.    She  had  allowed  her  four 


The  Back  Yard  Party.  223 

little  daughters  to  stay  up  for  a  while  and  see 
part  of  the  fun,  if  they  would  promise  to  be 
good.  Very  nice  and  proper  they  looked  stand- 
ing side  by  side  with  their  little  arms  folded. 
The  first  to  arrive  was  the  mouse  who  lived  in 
the  parlor  cup-board.  She  was  very  grand  in- 
deed in  her  high-topped  bonnet.  Grandmother 
Skipper  and  her  yoimgest  grandchild  came  next, 
and  after  them  came  Lady  ISTewly-^Ved  and  her 
husband.  On  they  came,  one  after  the  other, 
until  quite  a  large,  merry  crowd  had  gathered 
in  the  back  yard.  The  young  mice  wanted  to 
dance,  so  partners  were  chosen,  and  the  merry 
whirlers  went  spinning  round  and  around  until 
they  were  almost  ready  to  drop. 

Eilly  Nibble  and  Patty  Pry  grew  tired  of  the 
dancing  and  seated  themselves  on  top  of  the 
gate.  Tucker  Gray  saw  them  and  he  felt  jealous, 
for  he  had  a  great  fondness  for  little  Patty  and 
did  all  in  his  power  to  coax  her  from  Billy,  but 
she  would  not  come.  Then  Tucker  went  off  and 
devoted  himself  to  Polly  Pruin.  Polly  was 
charmed,  for  she  had  been  sitting  all  alone  wav- 
ing her  new  turkey  feather  fan.  But  all  at  once 
the  fun  was  brought  to  a  close,  the  house  door 
was  thrown  open  and  out  stole  old  Tom,  the  big, 


224 


The  Back  Yard  Party. 


black  cat.  Such,  a  scampering  you  never  saw, 
and  no  one  stopped  until  he  had  safely  reached 
his  home.    It  was  a  shame  that  they  should  be  so 


^^^^^ 

^^^ 

^-^ 

^^  ^\  ^^'i^^^P^B 

^^ 

'— ^^ 

SZ 

. .- 

^ 

rudely  disturbed  in  the  midst  of  their  fun,  for 
they  were  having  a  very  gay  time  all  by  them- 
selves, and  they  are  such  cute  and  cunning  little 
things  that  we  like  to  see  them  enjoy  themselves. 


The  Interrupted  Party. 

It  was  little  Dot  Mouse's  birthday.  It  bad  been 
a  long  while  coming,  Dot  thought,  but  she  was  such 
a  young  mouse  that  time  to  her  did  not  seem  to 


have  wings  as  maybe  she  might  have  imagined  it 
did,  had  she  been  a  little  older. 

At  any  rate,  her  birthday  had  come  at  last,  and 
Dot  was  a  happy  little  mouse.     Now  if  this  birth- 
day was  going  to  be  just  like  any  other  day  in  the 
15  C226> 


226  The  Interrupted  Party. 

week  perhaps  Dot  would  not  have  been  so  anxious 
for  it  to  come,  but  this  was  to  be  a  very  different 
day — great  things  were  to  happen.  Mother 
Mouse  had  promised  Dot  a  party.  Dot  had  never 
had  a  party,  although  she  had  been  to  the  Christ- 
mas party  given  by  the  squirrel,  and  she  remem- 
bered that  night  as  the  very  happiest  time  in  all 


her  life.  Dot  would  have  liked  to  ask  all  the 
people  she  knew,  but  Mother  Mouse  had  very 
different  views  on  the  subject,  and  only  the  mice 
that  lived  next  door,  and  those  that  lived  in  the 
baker  shop  across  the  way  had  been  invited.  They 
were  very  glad  to  come,  and  the  mice  from  the 
baker's  shop  had  promised  to  bring  some  dainties 
if  there  was  a  chance  of  their  carrying  them  across 


The  Interrupted  Party. 


227 


without   being  seen.     Yesterday  Dot   had   found 
such  a  pretty  frock  when  she  was  hunting  around 


the  nursery  closet.     She  often  visited  that  closet, 
for   nurse  sometimes  left  the  lid  off  the  cracker 


228  The  Interrupted  Party. 

jar,  and  Dot  was  as  fond  of  crackers  as  the  baby. 
But  this  time  she  forgot  all  about  the  crackers,  she 
was  80  pleased  over  the  pretty  pink  gown.  It 
must  have  belonged  to  a  very  tiny  doll,  for  it  was 
just  the  right  size  for  Dot,  and  she  was  such  a 
little  mouse.  When  the  birthday  came  Dot  rigged 
herself  in  her  new  dress  and  sat  down  to  wait  for 
her  guests.  Mother  Mouse  was  so  slow  fixing  her 
ruffled  cap  that  Dot  felt  sure  she  would  not  be 
ready  in  time,  but  Mother  Mouse  knew  there  was 
no  hurry.  By  and  bye  the  mice  came  creeping  in 
and  greeted  their  little  hostess,  with  best  wishes 
for  a  happy  birthday.  The  mice  from  the  baker's 
had  been  as  good  as  their  word,  and  each  had 
brought  some  sweet  meat  to  add  to  the  repast.  So 
there  was  no  lack  of  good  things  for  the  feast. 
But  alas,  alas,  their  fun  was  soon  to  be  spoiled. 
Mother  Mouse  had  just  nibbled  a  hole  in  the  sugar 
bag  when  a  squeak  from  her  daughter  made  her 
look  up,  and  there,  almost  upon  them,  stood  oid  Tab, 
and  close  behind  her  on  the  stairs  were  her  four 
little  kittens,  each  one  anxious  to  secure  a  mouse 
for  supper.  Then  such  a  hurrying  and  scurrying 
you  never  saw  in  all  your  life.  It  was  too  bad, 
for  poor  little  Dot  expected  such  fun  at  her  party. 


Lady  Nibble's  Ball. 

Scratch  !  Scratch !  Scratch !  went  the  pen  of 
Lady  Nibble.  It  was  a  quill  that  had  fallen  out 
of  the  old  gander's  tail,  and  the  bottle  of  blueing 
that  the  farmer's  wife  had  left  on  the  hanging 
shelf  served  splendidly  for  ink. 

Lady  Nibble  was  writing  invitations  for  a  ball. 
The  farmer's  family  were  going  to  give  a  dance  in 
the  new  barn.  Her  Ladyship  knew  this  was  so, 
for  she  had  overheard  the  folks  talking  about  it 
when  she  went  into  the  kitchen  cupboard  after 
some  cheese.  She  made  up  her  mind  at  once  that 
this  was  the  time  to  entertain  her  friends,  as  there 
would  be  lots  left  to  eat  after  the  farmer's  dance 
was  over.  She  went  right  to  work  and  sent  invi- 
tations far  and  near. 

Dicky  Scratch  had  been  invited  to  play  the 
music.  He  had  a  fiddle  that  had  once  adorned 
the  children's  Christmas  tree,  but  had  been  thrown 
out  as  rubbish,  until  Dicky  found  it.  Peter 
Squeak  was  to  call  out  the  figures,  his  voice  was 
so  high  and  shrill.  The  old  clothes  hamper  that 
had  been  banished  from  the  house  would  serve  as 
a  splendid  stand  for  Dicky  and  for  Peter  Squeak 
also. 

Lady  Nibble  was  all  in  a  flutter  of  excitement 

(229) 


230 


Lady  Nibble's  Ball. 


when  the  night  arrived,  and  how  pleased  she  was 
when  she  found  so  many  had  responded  to  her  in- 
vitation. They  came  in  dress  coats,  sacque  coats, 
cutaways  and  some  less  fortunate   came  without 


coats — but  what  they  wore  made  no  difference,  for 
everything  was  lovely,  and  the  best  of  all  Old 
Katty  Scamper  and  little  Mousey  Shy  danced 
together  perched  upon  an  old  dish-pan  that  had 
been  turned  up-side-down.     How  they  all  laughed 


Lady  Nibble's  Ball. 


231 


when  poor  old  Eatty  forgot  the  smalluess  of  the 
space  on  which  he  was  dancing,  and  danced  en- 
tirely off. 

They  danced  by  twos  and  they  danced  by  rights, 


and  before  they  could  realize  it  the  farmer's  guests 
were  going  home  and  Lady  Nibble  had  invited 
them  to  step  into  the  barn  and  partake  of  refresh- 
ments. What  a  feast  they  had  !  Her  Ladyship 
had  chosen  wisely  in  selecting  this  night,  for  such 


232  The  Adventure  of  the  Mice. 

rich  dainties  rarely  fall  to  a  mouse's  lot  with  so 
little  trouble.  There  were  dainty  bits  of  cheese, 
crackers,  fine  chicken  and  many  other  nice  things, 
but  the  very  best  of  all  was  the  box  of  chocolates 
which  old  Ratty  Scamper  found  hidden  under  the 
table.  He  had  tasted  nothing  so  good  since  the 
Christmas  before,  when  he  had  crept  into  little 
Flossie  Gray's  bed-room  and  taken  a  big  bite  of 
the  candy  cane  old  St.  Nicholas  had  left  in  her 
stocking.  Then  they  found  a  dish  of  strawberry 
ice  cream,  which  someone  had  left.  They  had 
never  tasted  ice  cream  before,  and  at  first  they  were 
afraid  to  touch  it,  but  when  they  once  got  a  taste, 
they  all  voted  it  very  nice. 

It  w^as  all  over  at  last,  for  even  the  best  of 
things  must  end,  and  as  Lady  Nibble  bade  her 
guests  good-night  she  felt  satisfied  that  this  had 
been  the  great  success  of  her  life. 


The  Adventure  of  the  Mice. 

Things  had  reached  a  point  where  something 
must  be  done,  so  thought  and  so  said  the  four  gray 
mice  that  had  met  together  to  talk  over  their  woes. 
These  four  mice  had  spent  their  lives  in  perfect 
comfort  and  happiness  under  the  high  back  steps. 


The  Adventure  of  the  Mice. 


233 


and  they  knew  thai-  no  four  mice  were  quite  as 
happy  as  they.  But  what  a  change  had  come 
into  their  lives  !  The  house  had  been  sold,  and 
these  new  people  made  the  lives  of  these  four 


little  mice  most  miserable.  No  such  thing  as  a 
trap  had  ever  bothered  them — but  now  it  was  al- 
most impossible  to  enter  a  cupboard  or  to  climb  up 
on  a  shelf  without  one  of  these  cruel  traps  coming 


(234) 


The  AdveDtare  of  the  Mice.  235 

to  view.  Of  course  the  cheese  smelt  good  and 
looked  so  tempting,  but  these  sly  little  chaps  had 
learned  the  danger  of  traps,  and  though  they 
wished  and  sighed  for  the  good  things,  they  did 
not  venture  near  these  strong  wire  enemies.  But 
worse  than  traps  came  into  their  lives.  These 
they  could  keep  away  from,  but  a  foe,  big  and 
powerful,  had  been  brought  to  capture  them.  It 
was  a  large,  sharp-eyed,  shiney  black  cat.  He 
never  seemed  to  sleep,  for  try  when  they  might  to 
creep  silently  into  the  house  his  quick  ears  heard 
them,  and  his  big  round  eyes  looked  eagerly  around. 
These  four  little  mice  were  growing  as  thin  as 
shadovrs,  for  they  dared  not  venture  from  their  step 
home  to  get  even  a  morsel  of  food.  At  last  they 
met  in  council,  and  then  it  was  decided  that  some- 
thing must  be  done.  After  much  talking  they 
concluded  that  puss  must  be  killed  and  that  they 
must  do  it.  So  armed  with  weapons  and  a  good 
strong  rope  they  started  on  their  mission.  You 
can't  guess  how  brave  they  felt  nor  how  sure  of 
their  success.  But  what  a  difference  came  when 
they  started  into  the  house.  There  stood  the  cat. 
Then  they  forgot  to  be  brave  and  off  they  scamp- 
ered, as  fast  as  possible,  never  stopping  to  look 
behind. 


Grandmother  Mouse's  Tale. 

Grandmother  Mouse  had  invited  her  two 
oldest  grand-daughters  to  tea.  They  were  very 
nice  h'ttle  mice  and  great  favorites  with  the  old 
lady,  and  as  they  also  were  very  fond  of  their 
grandmother,  it  was  a  pleasure  for  them  to  go. 
They  put  on  their  very  best  clothes  and  took  lots 
of  care  in  getting  ready,  for  their  grandmother  was 
most  particular.  When  they  reached  the  Louse 
there  she  stood  on  the  top  one  of  the  back  kit^ohen 
steps,  wearing  her  ruffled  cap  and  her  snowy  v/hite 
apron,  and  ready  with  a  hearty  welcome  for  both 
of  them. 

Grandmother  Mouse  lived  all  by  herself  in  the 
cupboard  under  the  kitchen  stairs.  This  had  been 
her  home  all  her  life,  and  as  they  sat  around  the 
tea  table  that  evening  she  told  them  the  story  of 
how  this  became  her  home. 

"  Mother,"  said  she,  ^*  went  off  one  day  to  hunt 
for  a  bit  of  cheese  or  some  nice  fresh  crackers  and 
told  me  to  stay  where  I  was  until  she  came  back. 
I  shut  my  eyes  thinking  I  would  take  a  nap  while 
she  was  gone,  for  the  time  always  seemed  so  dreary 
when  mother  was  away — and  I  must  have  taken 
a  good  long  nap,  for  it  was  dark  when  I  opened 
ray  eyes,  but  mother  was  not  there,  though  I  called 
r236J 


Grandmother  Mouse's  Tale.  237 

and  called  her.     All  that  night  she  did  not  come, 


and  when  the  next  day  passed  and  again  she  di4 


238  Grandmother  Mouse's  Tale. 

not  come,  I  knew  something  had  happened  to  her 
— but  whether  tlie  old  cat  had  pounced  upon  her 
or  whether  she  yielded  to  temptation  in  the  form 
of  a  piece  of  cheese  and  so  ended  her  life  in  a 
wicked  trap,  I  never  found  out."  Here  Grand- 
mother stopped  to  wipe  her  eyes,  for  though  it  was 
a  long  time  ago,  she  could  not  tell  the  story  with- 
out weeping. 

"Well,"  continued  she,  "I  had  grown  very 
hungry  by  this  time,  so  I  stole  quietly  out  to  find 
something  to  eat.  How  strange  I  felt  all  alone  in 
this  new  world.  I  seemed  to  be  growing  tinier 
every  minute  or  else  the  great  big  cellar  was  grow- 
ing bigger.  Cook  had  made  some  lovely  rusks 
and  had  put  them  in  the  cellar  to  cool.  This  was 
very  kind  in  cook,  I  thought,  and  I  ate  all  the 
sugar  off  the  top  of  one  and  then  began  to  nibble 
at  the  crust.  But  just  then  I  heard  footsteps,  and 
oh  my!  how  fast  I  scampered  away.  It  was 
cook  after  the  rusks,  and  I  heard  her  mutter  as 
she  went  up  the  stairs,  "Mistress  must  certainly 
get  a  trap  ;  the  mice  have  been  at  work  again." 
I  trembled  so  that  I  was  afraid  cook  would  hear 
me,  and  the  vision  of  that  trap  made  me  so  un- 
happy that  I  could  not  sleep  one  wink.  Then 
and  there  I  made  up  my  mind  that  nothing,  noth- 
ing would  ever  tempt  me  to  go  near  a  trap,  not 


Grandmother  Mouse's  Tale.  239 

the  ricthest  piece  of  cheese,  not  the  daintiest  morsel 
of  cake.  I  thought  of  the  cake  and  cheese,  my 
dears,"  said  the  mouse,  smiling,  "because  they 
were  the  two  things  I  particularly  loved,  and  I 
must  own  that  I  have  not  lost  my  fondness  for 
them,  if  I  am  old  and  a  grandmother. 

"  Day  after  day  went  by,  and  I  was  getting 
thin,  for  the  vision  of  the  trap  had  not  left  my 
mind,  and  I  was  afraid  to  venture  out  for  food. 
But  time  is  a  great  healer,  you  know,  so  at  last  I 
became  quite  brave  and  visited  the  pantry  shelf 
nightly. 

"  By  and  by  I  married  your  grandfather.  Hia 
home  Avas  in  one  corner  of  the  garret  back  of  the 
camphor  chest.  I  spent  two  nights  there,  but  I 
was  so  homesick  that  your  grandfather  said  he  did 
not  mind  where  he  lived,  and  the  cupboard  under 
the  stairs  was  quite  good  enough  for  him.  So  the 
next  day  back  we  came,  and  a  happier  mouse  than 
I  never  lived. 

'"'  Your  mother  was  born  here  and  your  grand- 
father died  here.  The  world  is  very  hard  upon 
mice,  my  children,  and  is  forever  laying  snares  for 
them  to  fall  into,  and  in  an  unlucky  moment  your 
grandfather  ate  of  a  piece  of  meat  on  which  poison 
had  been  spread.  He  only  lived  a  little  while, 
and  once  more  I  was  left  alone,  for  your  mother 


240  The  Candle  Feast. 

married  and  had  gone  to  live  in  the  next  door 
kitchen.  So  now,"  finished  grandmother,  "you 
see  this  has  always  been  my  home,  and  I  hope  it 
always  will  be.  But  I  think  it  is  getting  late  now 
and  that  you  had  better  be  going — but  come  soon 
again,  for  jou  know  I  am  always  glad  to  see  you. 


The  Candle  Feast. 

There  was  once  a  little  gray  mouse  who  was 
no  larger  or  older  than  the  other  mice,  but  who 
was  always  so  bright  and  clever  and  so  full  of  all 
sorts  of  plans  and  schemes  that  the  other  mice  had 
gotten  into  the  habit  of  going  to  her  in  all  their 
troubles,  and  she  was  always  ready  and  pleased  to 
put  her  little  wits  to  work  and  to  help  them  the 
very  best  she  knew  how. 

And  she  was  such  a  brave  little  mouse,  too. 
No  matter  how  bold  or  how  daring  the  scheme  she 
might  suggest,  she  was  always  ready  to  do  her 
part  in  the  undertaking.  Now  Miss  Mousy  had 
been  prowling  around  in  the  kitchen  one  morning 
and  had  seen  the  cook  busily  at  work  making  pies 
and  tarts,  and,  last  of  all,  brown,  spicy  ginger 
snaps.  If  there  was  one  thing  in  this  world  that 
Miss  Mousey  dearly  loved  it  was  ginger  snaps. 


The  Candle  Feast. 


241 


It  quite  made  her  mouth  water  to  even  think  about 
them,  and  she  made  up  her  mind  that  when  the 
house  was  hushed  for  the  night,  and  all  had  gone 
to  bed,  she  and  her  jolly  young  friends  would  visit 
the  kitchen  shelf.  Well,  Miss  Mousey  knew  the 
big  yellow  bowl  in  which  the  snaps  were  kept. 
The  other  mice  were  highly  pleased 
with  Miss  Mousey's  plan  and  glad 
to  join  her,  so  just  as  the  big  hall 
clock  struck  eleven  times,  Miss 
Mousey   and   her   little   band    all 


carefully  masked  entered  the  kitchen  quietly  and 
carefully.  Bat  the  bitterest  disappointment  awaited 
them ;  high  on  the  shelf  stood  the  ginger  snaps, 
but  not  in  the  yellow  bowl.  A  strong  tin  box  now 
held  them  and  the  lid  was  shut  down  tight.  There 
they  all  stood,  a  sad  and  disappointed  group,  their 
prize  so  near  and  yet  beyond  their  reach.  But 
16 


242 


The  Candle  Feast. 


Miss  Mousey  was  not  going  to  spend  her  time  in 
frettinor,   her   little   bright   eyes   glanced    sharply 


around  the  kitchen  to  find  something  else  to  satisfy 
the  hunger  of  herself  and  her  sorrowful-looking 


The  Candle  Feast.  243 

friends.  She  had  almost  given  up  in  despair,  when 
the  glow  from  the  fire  fell  on  the  table,  and  there 
stood  a  tall  white  candle.  It  was  only  the  work 
of  a  minute  to  call  the  others,  and  then  all  fell  to 
planning  a  way  to  carry  off  their  prize.  Finally, 
after  much  palling  and  tugging,  the  candle  was 
taken  from  the  holder,  and  then  all  went  to  work 
with  a  will  to  mount  it  on  their  shoulders  and 
bear  it  away  to  some  undisturbed  corner.  It  was 
a  funny  sight  to  see  them  travelling  along  with 
their  queer  burden,  but  they  did  not  mind,  and 
were  only  anxious  to  get  back  to  their  home  before 
they  were  discovered.  At  last  they  reached  the 
cellar  safe  and  sound,  and  then  the  fun  began. 
There  they  stood,  one  against  the  other  on  either 
side  of  the  candle,  and  nibbled  away  until  not  a 
thing  but  the  string  remained.  At  first  they  did 
not  like  the  taste  of  candle  very  much,  but  when 
they  had  finished,  they  one  and  all  decided  that  it 
was  not  the  worst  fare  in  the  world  after  all,  and 
some  of  them  concluded  that  they  really  liked  the 
candle  much  better  than  they  did  the  ginger  snaps. 
At  any  rate,  they  felt  repaid  for  their  trouble  and 
decided  that  some  night  they  would  all  go  again 
to  the  kitchen  and  get  another  candle. 


The  Mouse's  Easter  Egg. 

It  was  spring,  and  it  was  Easter  time.  The 
mice  knew  it  was  Easter  because  one  of  them  while 
rummaging  in  the  kitchen  cupboard  for  a  nibble 


of  something  liad  overheard  the  cook  giving  the 
order  to  the  grocer's  boy.  Miss  Mousey  had  heard 
her  say — "  I  want  a  great  many  eggs,  for  I  have 
promised  to  dye  some  for  the  children,  and  besides 

(244) 


The  Mouse^s  Easter  Egg.  245 

Easter  is  not  Easter  without  plenty  of  eggs." 
The  grocer's  boy  seemed  to  be  of  the  same  opinion, 
and  cook  laughed  merrily  when  he  told  her  how 
many  he  could  eat. 

Now  Miss  Mousey  made  up  her  mind  that  if 
cook  and  the  grocer's  boy  found  eggs  such  fine 
food,  she  must  certainly  try  to  have  one  for  her 
breakfast  on  Easter  day. 

Such  a  commotion  as  reigned  in  the  kitchen  on 
Saturday  morning !  Of  course  the  children  had 
no  school,  and  they  all  wanted  to  help  cook.  You 
should  have  heard  the  bursts  of  gleeful  laughter 
as  the  blue  and  crimson,  green,  purple  and  yellow 
eggs  were  put  on  a  platter  to  cool.  Miss  Mousey 
saw  and  heard  it  all  as  she  sat  peeping  through  a 
crack  in  the  cupboard  door  that  morning.  "If 
they  will  only  leave  them  on  the  platter  until  to- 
morrow," thought  Miss  Mousey,  "I  can  easily 
help  myself,  and  I  know  the  children  will  not 
mind  letting  me  have  just  one."  Fortune  was 
good  to  this  little  gray  lady,  and  when  cook  fixed 
the  fire  for  the  night  and  turned  out  the  gas,  the 
eggs  still  stood  on  the  plate.  Now  Miss  Mousey 
knew  that  her  two  young  brothers  would  like  to 
try  the  eggs  just  as  well  as  she,  so  she  asked  them 
to  come  with  her,  and  armed  with  knife,  fork  and 
spoon  they  started  on  their  journey. 


246 


The  Mouse's  Easter  Egg. 


It  was  easy  enough  to  reach  the  egg,  but  not 
quite  so  easy  to  take  it  home.  It  was  so  round 
and  so  smooth  that,  try  as  they  might,  not  one 
could  manage  it.  At  last  Miss  IMousey  jumped 
for  joy — she  had  hit  on  a  splendid  plan.     It  was 


the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  to  manage.  She 
would  lie  down  flat  on  her  back,  hold  the  egg  with 
her  four  little  feet,  and  then  her  two  strong  brothers 
could  pull  her  along  by  her  tail.  To  think  was  to 
act  this  time  and  before  many  minutes  the  egg  was 


The  Monkeys^  Trick.  247 

landed  in  a  safe  hiding-place  to  stay  until  morning. 
Then  what  a  feast  they  had  and  how  proud  the 
brothers  were  to  think  that  all  had  been  so  well 
managed  by  their  gray  sister. 


The  Monkeys'  Trick. 

Jocko  and  Jerry  were  two  iiv^ely,  long-tailed 
monkeys  that  lived  with  their  father  and  mother 
in  the  sunny,  Southern  lands.  They  were  the 
most  mischievous  little  fellows  you  could  well  im- 
agine, and  their  poor  mother  punished  and  scolded 
them  all  the  time,  but  all  in  vain ;  hardly  a  day 
passed  that  Jocko  or  Jerry  did  not  get  into  some 
kind  of  trouble. 

It  was  great  fun  to  watch  them  skipping  from 
tree  to  tree  in  search  of  the  large,  yellow  bananas 
that  grew  in  great  quantities  near  their  home,  or 
climbing  after  the  cocoanuts  they  so  dearly  lovea, 
and  which  furnished  many  a  dainty  meal  for  the 
hungry  youngsters. 

Jocko  and  Jerry  seemed  never  to  be  still.  If 
they  wTre  not  jumping  from  limb  to  limb  of  the 
tall  forest  trees  they  were  swinging  from  the 
branches  by  their  tails,  which  they  twisted  securely 
around  the  limbs,  or  else  they  were  cutting  up 


248 


The  Monkeys'  Trick. 


some  other  kind  of  caper.     When  night  came  they 
needed  no  rocking,  for  so  tired  were  they  that  they 


hardly  had  time  to  settle  themselves  for  the  night 
before  they  were  in  dreamland. 


The  Monkeys'  Trick.  249 

Brown  Bruin  was  a  solemn,  dignified  bear  that 
dwelt  in  the  forest  where  the  monkey  family  lived. 
He  had  grown  so  fat  in  his  old  age  that  his  greatest 
pleasure  was  to  take  things  easy.  Hurrying  and 
scurrying  were  not  to  his  liking,  and  the  merry, 
chattering  ways  of  Jocko  and  Jerry  bothered  him 
no  little.  He  had  many  times  talked  to  them,  and 
tried  to  show  them  how  much  better  it  was  to  live 
a  quiet,  peaceful  life.  The  little  monkeys  listened 
to  all  he  said,  and  they  seemed  so  solemn  that 
Brown  Bruin  felt  sure  his  words  had  not  been  in 
vain  ;  but  time  showed  him  his  mistake. 

Old  Bruin  had  among  his  possessions  a  beauti- 
ful red  hammock  that  he  prized  very  highly,  not 
only  for  itself,  but  for  the  many  happy  hours  he 
had  spent  in  it.  He  swung  it  up  one  morning  as 
usual,  and,  placing  his  high  hat  on  the  ground  be- 
neath, crawled  into  the  hammock  to  read  his  morn- 
ing paper  and  take  a  little  nap.  Jocko  and  Jerry 
watched  the  bear  preparing  to  spend  a  comfortable 
morning  and  decided  to  play  a  trick  on  him.  So 
they  sat  very  quietly,  hidden  among  the  leaves, 
until  Bruin  was  lost  in  the  reading  of  his  paper. 
Poor  fellow  !  He  was  so  deeply  engaged  in  reading 
the  report  of  the  stock  market  and  wondering 
whether  he  would  not  be  able  to  indulge  in  a  little 
veal,  mutton  and  pork,  now  they  were  going  so 


250  The  Monkeys'  Trick. 

low,  that  he  had  not  noticed  that  the  monkeys  were 


near.     They  stole  down,  and  Jocko  witli  his  sharp 


The  Magpie's  Revenge.  251 

little  knife  cut  the  rope,  and  down  went  Mr.  Bruin 
all  in  a  heap.  How  these  merry  little  monkeys  did 
chatter  and  laugh  when  they  saw  the  old  fellow  on 
the  ground,  but  they  had  good  sense  enough  to  run 
away  as  fast  as  they  could  go,  for  they  knew,  if 
they  were  caught,  they  would  get  a  good  scolding, 
and  they  should  have  a  good  hard  scolding,  for 
they  were  very  naughty  monkeys,  indeed,  to  dis- 
turb the  poor  bear  in  his  hammock. 

Poor  Bruin  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it 
when  he  found  himself  suddenly  landed  on  his 
head  on  the  hard  ground,  but  he  soon  made  up  his 
mind  that  it  was  all  a  trick  which  mischievous 
Jocko  and  Jerry  had  played  on  him,  and  he  felt 
very  badly  to  think  that  his  fine  silk  hat  was  ruined 
and  his  hammock  injured  just  through  the  work 
of  frolicsome  monkeys,  and  he  decided  that  he 
would  find  some  other  place  to  spend  his  leisure, 
where  he  would  not  be  troubled  by  such  naughty 
little  creatures  as  Jocko  and  Jerry. 


THe  Magpie's  Revenge. 

It  was  all  due  to  the  treatment  which  Madame 
Magpie  had  received  at  the  time  of  the  great  ball 
in  the  early  spring.     Invitations  had   been  sent 


252  The  Magpie's  Revenge. 

far  and  near,  and  she  had  been  slighted.  "Why, 
she  could  not  guess — not  because  she  had  been  for- 
gotten, she  was  sure  of  that,  for  had  she  not  whis- 
pered to  all  the  birds  in  the  forest  that  she  was 
most  anxious  to  attend  this  wonderful  dance.  The 
Ostrich  was  one  of  the  committee,  and  she  knew 
she  had  told  him  of  her  wish.  At  last  the  truth 
slipped  out — one  and  all  thought  she  talked  too 
much.  Madame  Magpie  felt  very  badly  about  it, 
but  she  decided  to  keep  perfectly  quiet,  make  no 
fuss,  and  see  if  a  time  would  not  come  when  she 
might  punish  these  folks  who  called  themselves 
her  friends.  The  days  of  spring  passed  by,  and 
one  by  one  the  summer  months  came  creeping  on, 
and  still  Madame  Magpie  could  think  of  no  plan 
that  just  exactly  pleased  her.  At  last  she  hit  upon 
something  that  suited  her  perfectly. 

Her  first  movement  was  to  provide  herself  with 
writing  material.  She  needed  no  pen,  for  her  own 
wing  served  that  purpose.  Then  she  proceeded  to 
write  a  host  of  invitations.  It  kept  her  busy  for 
several  days,  but  at  last  all  was  finished  and  each 
sent  to  the  proper  person. 

You  see,  Madame  Magpie  had  decided  to  give 
a  feast,  and  she  had  also  decided  to  let  these  folks 
who  thought  she  talked  too  much  see  how  much 
she  really  could  talk. 


The  Magpie's  Revenge. 


253 


At  last  the  day  and  hour  arrived,  and  the  guests 
came  in  crowds.  The  little  hostess  had  spared  no 
pains  in  securing  all  sorts  of  good  things,  and 
when  all  were  come,  and  had  taken  their  places, 
and  were  ready  to  enjoy  the  feast,  the  Madame's 
fun  began.     She  commenced  chattering  at  such  a 


lively  rate  that  the  guests  were  almost  distracted. 
She  rattled  on  and  on,  and  on,  her  voice  growing 
louder  and  shriller  every  minute,  until  one  by  one 
the  animals  rushed  away  almost  deafened  by  tne 
Magpie  s  shrieks.  Not  one  was  brave  enough  to 
stay,  and  although  the  Magpie's  throat  was  raw, 
she  felt  she  was  revenged. 


The  Searcli  for  Food. 


"Tick  Tock  !  Tick  lock  !  Tick  tock  !"  slowly 
and  steadily  the  hands  of  the  kitchen  clock  moved  for- 


ward, but  still  it  kept  on  with  its  oft-repeating  song. 
Madame  Mouse  felt  as  though  she  could  stand 
(-254) 


The  Search  for  Food. 


255 


it  no  longer.  About  two  hours  ago  her  husband 
had  crept  cautiously  out  of  the  cupboard  and 
across  the  kitchen  floor,  and  had  stolen  quietly 
down  cellar,  hoping  to  find  lots  to  eat  for  his  wife 
and  hungry  little  ones.  Madame  Mouse  was  grow- 
ing very  nervous.  The  cellar  was  not  so  far  away 
that  he  must  be  gone  two  hours.  She  longed  to 
go  to  the  cellar  herself  and  see  what  could  have 
become  of  him,  but  she  dared  not  leave  her  little 


ones   alone. 


Just    as    the    clock    struck    again 


Madame  blouse,  who  was  taking  another  peep, 
spied  her  husband  moving  slowly  across  the  room, 
the  empty  bag  at  his  side.  He  had  gone  to  the 
cellar  but  liad  not  found  a  single  thing.  He 
guessed  then  that  the  folks  had  gone  away  on  a 
visit,  and  had  left  nothing  behind  them,  not  even 
the  tiniest  morsel  to  reward  his  search.  Madame 
Mouse  and  her  husband  put  their  heads  together 
to  try  to  think  of  some  plan  for  finding  food  for 
their  hungry  babies.  At  last  they  decided  that 
Father  Mouse  should  try  the  big  hall  closet.     He 


256  The  Search  for  Food. 

had  once  found  there  a  lunch  basket  belonging  to 
one  of  the  children,  and  there  was  quite  a  lot  in 
it,  too.  As  soon  as  he  went  into  the  closet  a  half 
dozen  heads  or  more  peeped  out  from  holes  in  the 
floor.  "  YouVe  come  to  a  sorry  place  for  food," 
said  they,  "  we  are  almost  starved." 

Mr.  Mouse  said  not  a  word  but  turned  towards 
home.  Having  heard  from  her  husband  that  the 
folks  were  away,  Mrs.  Mouse  and  her  four  babies 
had  ventured  out.  Mr.  Mouse  saw  them  as  soon 
as  he  entered  the  kitchen.  Tiny  was  in  his 
mother's  arms,  while  Tip,  Top  and  Teddy  huddled 
around  her.  "lam  too  big  a  coward,"  thought 
Mr.  Mouse,  "to  go  back  to  them  empty  handed," 
so  he  stole  away  without  their  having  seen  him. 

He  wandered  about  the  shed,  wondering  what 
next  to  do,  when  all  at  once  his  eyes  spied  some- 
thing round  and  white  gleaming  at  him  from  the 
corner.  "  Luck  at  last,"  thought  he,  and  it  was, 
too,  for  it  proved  to  be  a  long  white  candle.  A 
few  seconds  brought  him  to  his  family,  the  good 
news  was  told,  and  they  all  hurried  away  to  have 
a  royal  feast.  It  seemed  such  a  treat  after  the 
long  waiting:  and  the  tedious  search  they  had  had, 
and  they  all  felt  very  thankful,  even  baby  Tiny 
who  sat  in  his  mother's  arms  and  quietly  nibbled 
away  at  his  shart. 


THe  Visit  to  Jerry's. 

Feiday  afternoon  had  come  round  once  more, 
which  meant  that  lessons  were  done  for  the  week, 
and  to-morrow  was  free  from  books  and  study. 
Tom  and  Fred  were  chums.  If  the  bovs  at  school 
saw  Tom  without  Fred,  or  Fred  without  Tom, 


they  were  sure  something  must  be  the  matter,  for 
where  one  went  the  other  went  also.  They  were 
in  the  same  class  at  school ;  they  played  on  the 
same  base-ball  team  ;  they  read  the  same  books,  in 
fact,  they  did  everything  as  much  alike  as  possible. 
17  (257) 


258  The  Visit  to  Jerry's. 

Now,  as  they  sauntered  home  from  school  this  Fri- 
day afternoon,  their  brains  were  busy  planning 
some  way  to  spend  the  next  day. 

"  If  it  were  only  time  to  go  fishing,"  said  Tom, 
"  I^m  just  aching  to  try  my  luck  with  the  pole  and 
line  that  Uncle  gave  me  at  Christmas/' 

"  I  wish  some  of  the  fellows  could  play  cricket," 
said  Fred,  "  I  want  to  use  my  bat."  But  wishes 
were  useless,  and  this  the  boys  knew,  so  they  went 
to  thinking  once  more. 

"Let's  go  see  old  Jerry,  Tom,"  said  Fred, 
"  we've  not  seen  him  for  a  long  time." 

Jerry  used  to  work  for  Tom's  father  and  was 
very  fond  of  the  boys.  Now  he  lived  on  a  little 
place  just  outside  the  city  and  raised  pigs,  which 
he  brought  into  the  town  market.  This  plan 
pleased  Tom  very  much,  and  they  agreed  to  meet 
bright  and  early  the  next  morning,  so  that  they 
might  have  a  good  long  day.  Tom's  mother  had 
packed  a  basket  of  good  things  for  Jerry,  for  he 
lived  all  alone,  and  women's  cooking  was  such  a 
treat,  he  once  told  the  boys.  It  was  a  beautiful 
day,  and  the  boys  leaped  and  shouted  when  they 
had  left  the  city  behind  them  and  had  entered  into 
the  freedom  of  the  country  roads.  The  sun  was 
high  up  in  the  heavens  when  they  reached  Jerry's 
and  Tom  was  glad  to  put  down  the  basket,  for  it 


The  Vist  to  Jerri's.  259 

was  beginning  to  feel  pretty  heavy.  Fred  wanted 
to  help  him,  but  Tom  insisted  on  carrying  it  all 
alone,  too  proud  to  own  that  he  was  tired.  At 
length  the  cottage  where  Jerry  lived  came  in  sight, 
and  before  long  they  lifted  the  latch  of  the  gate 
and  walked  up  the  gravel  walk  to  the  house. 
How  pleased  Jerry  was  to  see  them,  and  how  full 
of  delight  over  the  basket  of  goodies !     Jerry  had 


a  funny  new  pet  to  show  the  boys  that  day — a  wee 
little  pig  that  he  had  taught  to  come  into  the 
kitchen  and  drink  milk  from  a  saucer. 

The  boys  had  a  fine  time,  and  when  they  said 
good-bye  to  Jerry  they  promised  him  and  them- 
selves, too,  that  it  would  not  be  long  before  they 
came  again. 

The  opportunity  to  again  pay  a  visit  to  Jerry 
came  in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  and  bright 
and  early  one  Saturday  the  boys  started  on  their 


260  The  Visit  to  Jerry's. 

trip.  Jerry  was  delighted  to  see  them,  but  they 
found  him  in  so  much  trouble  that  they  really 
pitied  him.  It  was  all  on  account  of  the  pig  that 
had  been  so  cute  and  pretty  when  they  visited  him 
before.  He  had  sent  them  a  photograph  of  piggy 
as  he  looked  when  performing  his  tricks,  and  they 
fully  expected  to  see  him  dance  and  play  the  fiddle. 
This  was  one  great  reason  they  were  so  anxious  to 
go  out  to  Jerry's  once  more,  for  they  were  wild  to 
see  this  wonderful  creature  about  whom  they  had 
heard  so  much. 

As  they  drew  near  the  house,  they  heard  the  pig 
squealing  and  grunting  at  a  great  rate,  while  above 
all  the  din  rose  the  voice  of  Jerry,  evidently  in  no 
very  pleasant  frame  of  mind.  Opening  the  door, 
they  beheld  Jerry  standing,  hat  in  hand,  and  look- 
ing very  much  troubled.  Tables  and  chairs  were 
overturned,  and  the  stove-pipe  was  just  falling 
down,  while  the  stove  lay  upset  on  the  floor.  In 
the  midst  of  it  all  stood  a  great  ugly  hog,  so  huge 
that  it  seemed  to  fill  the  whole  room.  The  boys 
were  thunderstruck  to  see  such  a  big  hog  in  the 
house  and  wondered  how  it  got  there.  Then  Jerry 
explained  to  them  that  this  was  the  little  pig  of 
which  they  had  all  been  so  fond.  It  had  kept 
growing  and  growing,  and  every  day  he  had 
thought  he  would  put  it  out  of  doors,  but  he  had 


rhe  Visit  to  Jerry's, 


261 


not  done  it,  and  now  it  was  more  of  a  task  than 
he  could  do  alone.  The  boys  offered  to  help  him, 
and  together  they  drove  the  pig  to  the  door,  but 


alas,  alas,  he  was  so  big  that  all  he  could  get  out- 
side the  cottage  door  was  his  head.  He  would 
have  been  very  glad  to  get  out,  for  the  house  was 
uncomfortably  small,  but  try  as  he  might,  he  could 


262 


Out  in  the  Storm. 


get  no  further.  So  they  decided  to  set  to  work 
and  take  down  a  portion  of  the  wall  so  as  to  make 
a  place  large  enough  for  him  to  get  out.  It  was  a 
good  deal  of  work,  and  by  the  time  they  got  the 
work  all  done  it  was  growing  dark  and  time  for 
the  boys  to  be  starting  for  home.  They  felt  that 
they  had  had  a  very  exciting  day,  take  it  all  in  all, 
and  they  were  glad  that  they  happened  to  be  on 
hand  to  help  Jerry  in  his  time  of  trouble,  and 
Jerry  was  no  less  pleased  to  think  that  he  had 
had  such  good  helpers. 


Out  in  the  Storm. 
Little  Letty  Lee  had  come  to  Aunt  Kuth's 


to  spend  her  vacation.     Aunt  Ruth  and  UncU 
William  lived  on  a  great  big  farm,  and  they  gladly 


(263) 


264  Out  in  the  Storm. 

welcomed  their  little  niece,  for  they  loved  her 
dearly.  It  made  them  very  happy  to  hear  her 
merry  voice  and  to  watch  her  as  she  ran  joyfully 
around  the  place.  She  made  friends  with  the 
cows,  patted  the  horses  as  they  stood  in  their 
stables,  and  she  even  made  visits  to  the  pen  where 
the  old  mother  pig  and  her  ten  little  ones  dwelt. 

But  Letty  loved  the  chickens  best  of  all.  She 
never  tired  of  watching  them,  and  she  would  hop 
out  of  bed  at  the  first  call  to  help  Aunt  Euth 
scatter  the  corn  for  the  breakfast  of  this  hungry 
flock.  She  would  jump  with  delight  when  Aunt 
Euih  called,  "Chick!  Chick!  Chick!''  and  hens 
and  roosters,  and  chickens  of  all  sizes,  came 
running  from  every  direction.  Another  of  Letty's 
amusements  was  to  hunt  for  the  eggs.  What 
funny  places  the  hens  choose  sometimes!  Letty 
felt  sure  they  were  trying  to  hide  from  her.  One 
day  she  came  to  the  house  with  fourteen  new-laid 
eggs  in  her  basket.  "Now,"  said  Aunt  Ruth, 
"let's  go  right  away  and  put  these  under  old 
Biddy,  and  the  first  chick  she  hatches  out  shall  be 
yours."  Letty  watched  every  day,  and  by  and  by 
the  shell  was  broken  and  out  came  a  tiny  baby 
bird.  Letty  was  so  pleased.  One  morning  a 
heavy  shower  fell  and  Letty's  little  chick  got  lost 
from  M»e  rest.     Uncle  William  found  him  when 


t265) 


266  In  the  Meadow. 

he  came  in  from  the  barn.  The  poor  baby  was 
sitting  on  a  fence  post  almost  drowned.  Letty 
wrapped  him  in  soft  flannel,  tucked  him  away  in 
a  basket,  and  in  an  hour  or  so  he  was  jumping 
around  as  lively  as  ever.  Oh,  how  delighted  she 
was,  for  she  feared  the  poor  little  fellow  would  die. 


In  the  Meadow. 

Beside  the  brook  that  flowed  through  the 
meadow,  bubt»ling  and  rippling  along  day  after 
day,  grew  a  young  tree.  It  had  sufiered  greatly 
during  the  long,  cold  winter,  and  it  sometimes 
grew  so  tired  of  Jack  Frost's  pinches  and  his 
strong,  icy  breath  that  it  wanted  to  die.  But  now 
old  Jack  Frost  had  left  the  meadow  and  gone  far 
north  to  his  snow-clad  home,  and  the  warm,  gentle 
sun  smiled  so  sweetly  upon  the  little  tree  that  it 
felt  like  growing  and  blooming  again,  and  one  by 
one  it  put  forth  its  little  leaves  until  it  was  fully 
decked  in  its  soft,  green  gown. 

A  robin  saw  the  pretty  tree  one  day,  and  thought 
what  a  fine  home  he  and  his  bride  might  find 
among  its  branches.  So  he  went  busily  to  work 
and  soon  the  dearest  little  nest  rested  snugly 
almost  in  the  top  of  the  tree,  and  when  it  was  fin- 


In  the  Meadow.  267 

ished  he  brought  home  his  mate,  and  the  tree  was 
very  proud  to  think  that  it  had  been  selected  as 
the  home  of  such   a  loving  pair.     But  one  day 


something  happened  that  made  the  little  birds 
happy,  too,  and  this  is  what  it  was :  For  some 
time  four  tiny  blue  eggs  had  been  carefully  tended 


268  In  the  Meadow. 

by  the  robins,  and  at  last  four  little  beaks  picked 
the  shell  and  four  little  baby  robins  came  out  to 
live  in  this  great,  big  world.  The  tree  rocked 
them  gently,  and  the  mother  thought  that  no  baby 
robins  ever  had  a  prettier  cradle  than  hers.  The 
robin  family  stayed  in  the  tree  all  summer,  and 
the  tree  kept  growing  stronger  and  stronger,  and 
taller  and  taller,  and  when  the  birdies  flew  away 
it  was  only  comforted  by  the  promise  that  the  old 
birds  would  come  back  again  the  next  year.  Just 
before  he  flew  away  the  old  robin  lingered  beneath 
the  tree  just  long  enough  to  sing  a  farewell  song. 

Down  by  the  very  brook  over  which  hung  the 
tree,  which  was  the  home  of  the  robins,  dwelt  a 
handsome  green  frog.  He  was  born  there  in  the 
early  spring,  and  before  the  robins  came  the  tree 
had  watched  little  Froggy-woggy  with  great  in- 
terest. It  wondered  to  see  him  growing  so  fast, 
and  he  looked  so  jolly  v/Ith  his  great  grinning 
mouth  and  his  big,  bulging  eyes.  Just  as  soon  as 
the  sun  reached  the  banks  of  the  little  brook 
Froggy  would  perch  himself  on  a  smooth  stone, 
blinking  and  winking  as  though  the  world  gave 
nothing  but  happiness  to  him.  Now  the  tree  soon 
learned  that  Froggy  loved  a  little  lady  frog. 
Every  morning  went  the  youthful  lover  to  take 
his  lady  love  for  a  walk ;  he  carried  a  huge  bou- 


In  the  Meadow. 


269 


quet  of  flowers  so  beautiful  that  the  bees  and  but- 
terflies followed  him,  sipping  of  their  sweetness. 
One  day  Froggy  and  his  lady  love  went  away  and 
never  came  back  again.  The  tree  felt  sure  they 
had  found  a  home  for  themselves  by  some  other 
stream. 

A  hill  sloped  up  from  the  brookside,  and  among 


the  grasses  and  low  shrubs  flowers  of  all  sorts 
lifted  their  heads.  Daisies  opened  their  bright 
eyes  at  the  peep  of  morning,  and  nodded  their 
sleepy  little  heads  at  the  coming  of  the  shadows. 
The  blue  violets  shyly  put  forth  their  bloom,  and 
the  yellow  buttercups  sparkled  and  gleamed  in  the 
bright  sunshine.     But  the  hillside  was  most  beauti- 


270  In  the  Meadow. 

ful  when  the  children  coming  home  from  school 
stopped  to  gather  the  posies.  Their  chatter  and 
joyous  laughter  rang  out  like  the  sweetest  music, 
as  beautiful,  so  thought  the  tree,  as  the  song  of 
the  birds  that  sang  so  sweetly  all  day  long. 

One  night  the  flowers  and  trees  were  awakened 
from  their  happy  dreams  by  the  strangest  noise 
they  had  ever  heard.  The  moon  was  big  and 
round  that  night  and  was  shedding  her  brightest 
light,  so  that  the  meadow  was  almost  as  bright  as 
day.  Flowers  lifted  their  drowsy  heads,  and  the 
trees  bent  and  swayed  to  peep  around  each  other 
to  find  out,  if  possible,  the  cause  of  so  much 
trouble.  They  soon  discovered  that  a  flock  of 
young  birds  tliat  had  doubtless  wandered  from 
their  nests  and  had  stayed  out  too  late  had  been 
attacked  by  some  big,  round-eyed  owls,  and  the 
loud  cry  of  fear  from  the  young  birds  as  they  hur- 
ried through  the  air  had  wakened  all  the  sleeping 
hillside  and  put  sleep  to  flight. 

But  the  meadow  was  not  only  the  home  of  the 
birds,  the  flowers  and  the  fat  little  frogs,  but  the 
children  nsed  to  go  there  and  spend  the  long  beauti- 
ful summer  days  playing  in  the  soft,  green  grass 
hunting  for  the  birds^  nests  and  gathering  the 
bright,  pretty  flowers.  But,  best  of  all,  they  loved 
to  chase  the  butterflies  that  flitted  here  and  there, 


The  Lost  Prize. 


^1 


drinking  the  honey  from  the  flower  cup*h,*iiid  rest- 
ing lightly  on  the  nodding  grasses.  Take  it  all  in 
all,  the  meadow  was  the  most  delightful  place  in 
the  world,  not  only  for  the  children,  but  for  all  the 
merry  crowds  of  birds  and  insects  that  made  it  their 
home  and  their  pleasure  ground,  and  none  of  them 
would  have  known  how  to  get  along  without  it. 


The  Lost  Prize. 
Kitty  Gray  had  been  brought  to  her  new 


\^me  in  a  covered  basket.     She  remembered  well 
li:)W  one  of  the  boys  had  brought  a  saucer  of  new 


272 


The  Lost  Prize, 


milk  to  the  barn,  set  it  down  on  the~  floorTand,, 
when  she  and  her  brothers  and  sisters  were  busy 


lapping  up  the  milk,  she  had  been  picked  up,  car- 
ried to  the  house,  and  tucked  away  in  the  basket. 
It  was  hours  before  she  was  taken  out.     Time 


and  time  again  had  she  called  "  Mew !  Mew ! " 
iust  as  loud  as  ever  she  could,  but  it  had  done  no 


The  Lost  Prize. 


273 


good,  a  gentle  voice  would  always  say,  "  Lie  still, 
Kitty  Gray,  and  be  real  good/^ 

When  the  basket  was  opened  and  Kitty  jumped 
out  she  found  herself  in  a  place  very  different 
from  the  big  barn  in  which  she  had  always  lived. 
But  she  soon  grew  to  like  it  very  much.     She 


loved  the  warm  fire,  beside  which  she  curled  her- 
self every  night,  and  the  cook  gave  her  lots  o^ 
good  things  to  eat. 

Cook  sat  by  the  fire  reading  one  night,  efK 
Kitty  lay  curled  up  in  her  lap.  Kit's  eyes  roam-^fii 
lazily  around  the  room  until  they  rested  upon  ac 
empty  pickle  bottle  that  cook  had  left  standing  on 


274 


The  Lost  i=^ze. 


the  dresser.  What  was  that  black  object  that 
kept  moving  around  in  the  bottle?  "As  sure  as 
you  are  living,"  thought  Kitty  Gray,  "  that  is  a 
mouse.  I'll  wait  until  cook  goes  to  bed,  and  then 
I'll  have  a  feast." 


The  clock  struck  ten,  and  cook  put  out  tke  light 
and  went  up  stairs.  Kit  jumped  up  on  the  dresser, 
peeped  in  at  the  mouse,  stuck  her  paw  in  the 
bottle,  but  no  mouse  came  out.  Then  Kitty  shook 
the  bottle,  then  she  turned  it  upside  down,  but  the 
mouse  would  not  shake  out.     Then  Kit  grew  cross, 


The  !Lost  Prize. 


275 


and  seizing  the  bottle,  brought  it  down  crash  on  a 
flat  iron  that  lay  Dear.  It  flew  in  a  hundred 
pieces,  and  away  scampered  the  mouse,  right 
through  a  hole  in  the  wall,  and  so  swiftly  that 
Kitty  had  no  chance  at  it  at  all.     She  was  dread- 


r.  ^^y^  fi 


rally  disappointed,  but  that  did  not  help  mattei-s, 
so  she  curled  herself  in  a  heap  by  the  fire  to  for- 
get her  troubles  in  sleep,  but  in  the  future  she 
will  have  too  much  good  sense  to  strike  a  bottle 
on  an  iron. 


Rival  Babies. 

Daddy  Bear  had  gone  off  on  a  hunting  trip. 
He  had  left  Madam  Bear  and  their  little  son  alone, 
but  he  had  brought  such  a  fine  young  lamb  from 
the  neighboring  farm-yard  that  he  had  no  fear  of 
their  being  in  want  while  he  was  gone. 

Daddy  Bear  and  his  wife  were  very  proud  of 
their  young  son.  They  thought  nothing  so  beauti- 
ful as  his  fat  little  body  and  his  sharp  little  eyes, 
that  looked  so  bright  and  charming.  His  funny 
attempts  to  growl  like  his  parents  made  them  both 
laugh  merrily. 

Very  near  to  the  home  of  the  bears  dwelt  an- 
other family.  This  family  consisted  of  Father 
and  Mother  Fox  and  their  little  son.  Now  the 
Fox  parents  were  just  as  fond  and  proud  of  their 
baby  as  Daddy  and  Madam  Bear  were  of  theirs, 
and  they  used  often  to  think  that  their  son  was 
just  a  little  more  cute  than  Baby  Bear.  These 
two  little  chaps  were  born  about  the  same  time, 
and  each  had  been  carefully  watched  and  guarded 
by  its  fond  parents,  who  tried  to  outdo  each  other 
in  their  devotion  to  their  babies.  If  Madam  Bear 
took  her  little  boy  walking,  young  Master  Fox 
was  soon  taken  out  for  a  stroll.  If  little  Foxy 
appeared  in  a  new  Pinafore,  Madam  Bear  lost  no 
(276) 


(277) 


278  The  Dance  in  the  Woods. 

time  in  arraying  her  son  in  one  just  like  it.  So  it 
went  on,  and  these  rival  babies  grew  strong  and 
hearty,  caring  not  at  all  for  the  jealousies  of  their 
mothers,  but  spending  many  happy  hours  together 
in  play. 

One  day  the  two  mothers  and  the  two  babies 
met  together  in  the  woods.  The  youngsters  played 
haj)pily  together,  while  the  mothers  sat  on  a  fallen 
log  and  chatted.  Finally  Mother  Bear  declared 
that  her  son  was  the  taller.  Mother  Fox  said  that 
could  not  be  the  case,  for  she  knew  that  honor  be- 
longed to  Foxy.  So  the  little  folks  were  called 
and  made  to  stand  up  and  be  measured,  but  it  did 
no  good,  for  each  mother  claimed  that  her  son  was 
the  taller.  At  last  they  decided  to  leave  the  mat- 
ter to  some  friends  that  happened  to  be  passing, 
and  they  decided  that  there  was  no  difference  be- 
tween them.  This  did  not  satisfy  the  mothers,  and 
each  one  thought  that  the  honor  belonged  to  them. 


The  Dance  in  the  Woods. 

It  was  spring,  and  the  butterflies  now  began  to 
emerge  from  the  warm,  soft  covering  in  which 
they  had  been  folded.  They  were  the  pictures  of 
graceful  beauty  as  they  flitted  here  and  there  from 


The  Dance  in  the  Woods. 


279 


flower  to  flower.  The  flowers  nodded  to  them 
and  gave  them  their  sweetest  juices  to  drink.  The 
birds  watched  them  one  morning  as  they  danced 
merrily  on  the  green  grass,  still  sparkling  with  the 
early  dew. 

''  It  seems  to  me/^  said  a  young  raven,  '^  that 


if  the  butterfly  can  whirl  so  gracefully  on  his  tiny 
legs,  we  also  might  learn  to  perform  this  most  de- 
lightful accomplishment.'' 

The  raven  prided  himself  upon  his  shiny  black 
coat,  and  it  is  likely  he  thought  this  a  good  chance 
of  showing  off"  before  his  friends. 

"  Let's  try  it  once,"  said  the  stork,  who  was  out 


280 


The  Dance  in  the  Woods. 


for  a  stroll  and  had  stopped  to  watch  the  merry 

butterflies. 

"  We  will  dance  together,'*  said  the  raven.  So 
tne  stork  threw  his  long  bill  over  the  raven's 
shoulder,  and  wing  to  wing  they  whirled  around, 
not  pictures  of  grace,  however,  for  they  moved 
very,  very  awkwardly. 


The  eagle,  gazing  from  his  lofty  nest,  saw  the 
antics  of  the  pair  and  laughed  merrily  to  himself. 
"  I'll  fly  down  and  get  nearer  the  fun,"  said  he. 
Down  he  came,  and  meeting  a  plump,  white  goose, 
ne  told  him  of  the  performance  and  asked  him  to 
come  along  and  see  it.  The  goose  had  hard  work 
to  keep  up  with  the  eagle,  who  walked  along  with 


The  Dance  in  the  Woods. 


281 


great  rapid  strides.  The  dancers  soon  grew  tired, 
but  not  discouraged,  and  so,  after  resting  their 
weary  legs  and  gaining  once  more  their  breath, 
they  went  at  it  again. 

By  this  time  quite  a  crowd  of  birds  of  one  sort 


or  another  had  perched  themselves  on  trees  and 
bushes,  for  such  a  sight  as  two  birds  dancing  to- 
gether was  new  and  strange  in  the  woods  of  Fly- 
away. 

A  little  blue  jay,  who  sat  swinging  on  a  bough 
of  a  young  cherry  tree,  thought  if  it  were  such 


282  The  Surprise  Party. 

fun  to  watch  the  stork  and  the  raven,  how  much 
more  fun  it  would  be  to  trip  it  with  them.  So 
down  he  flew  and  commenced  spinning  around  and 
around.  This  movement  on  the  part  of  the  jay 
put  the  hawk  in  the  notion,  and  she  also  joined 
the  dancers.  The  dodo  and  the  crane  were  the 
next  to  fall  in,  and  before  very  long  couple  after 
couple  were  hopping  around  enjoying  the  lively 
reel. 

THe  Surprise  Party. 

Dear  me,  did  no  one  tell  you  ahoiit  the  party  ? 
It  was  a  perfect  success  all  through.  That  funny 
little  turtle  that  lives  in  the  swamp  back  of  the 
hedgehog's  got  it  up.  One  morning  he  arose 
bright  and  early,  did  his  work  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible, and  then  started  around  to  his  friend's,  the 
porcupine,  to  make  him  a  visit.  "  Do  you  know,'' 
said  the  turtle,  after  a  while,  "  I've  been  thinking 
how  pleasant  it  would  be  to  get  up  a  surprise  party 
for  our  neighbor,  Mr.  Bruin." 

"The  very  thing,"  replied  the  porcupine,  "if 
you  are  willing  to  invite  the  people." 

"I'll  be  glad  to  do  it,"  answered  the  turtle. 
The  turtle  would  not  stay  to  dinner,  although  the 
porcupine  invited  him,  and  that  very  afternoon  he 


The  Surprise  Party. 


'2SZ 


started  off  to  invite  the  guests.  The  following 
Monday  was  selected,  and  everybody  was  charged 
not  to  let  the  news  reach  the  ears  of  Mrs.  Bruin. 


'^t^^^M^^^^&S 


^^'tfj  cox'^^^^^, 


Monday  came  bright  and  clear,  and  about  eight 
o'clock  all  the  guests  met  at  the  weeping  willow 
tree  and  started  off  together.     They  looked  very 


284 


The  Surprise  Party. 


funny  as  they  marched  along,  each  one  carrying 
his  basket  on  his  arm.  These  baskets  were  care- 
fully guarded,  for  therein  were  hidden  all  sorts  of 
dainties  for  the  feast  to  be  given  during  the  even- 
ing. When  they  reached  the  house,  Jedekiah  Fox 
knocked  at  the  door,  and  instead  of  opening  it  Mr. 


Bruin  popped  his  head  out  of  the  window.  You 
never  saw  anybody  so  surprised  in  your  life.  But 
what  lots  of  fun  they  did  have  after  they  had  gone 
in  and  put  down  their  baskets !  The  bear  was  so 
glad  to  see  them  that  he  consented  to  show  them 
how  he  used  to  dance  when  he  travelled  around 
with  Prof.  Trix.     So  he  took  his  cane  in  his  hand 


The  Raid  of  the  Rats.  286 

and  performed  many  queer  antics,  which  were  ex- 
ceedingly amusing  to  the  whole  company.  They 
were  all  so  happy  and  time  passed  so  pleasantly 
that  the  wee,  small  hours  of  the  morning  dawned 
before  the  party  broke  up.  They  all  agreed  that 
the  turtle  deserved  much  pmise  for  the  fine  time 
he  had  been  the  means  of  affording  them,  and  de- 
cided to  arrange  a  surprise  party  for  him  some 
day. 

The  Raid  of  the  Rats. 

There  was  once  a  man  named  Nathan  Brown, 
who  kept  the  "  Silver  Lake  Mill.''  The  mill  had 
been  so  named  on  account  of  the  beautiful  stream 
of  water  upon  whose  banks  it  was  built.  This 
water  as  it  flowed  on  and  on,  day  after  day,  turned 
the  great  wheel  and  ground  the  wheat  that  the 
farmers  brought  to  Nathan  to  be  made  into  flour. 
Nathan  was  a  big,  fat,  red -cheeked  fellow,  who 
loved  nothing  better  than  a  chat  with  his  neigh- 
bors, and  while  the  mill  wheel  kept  busily  and 
steadily  turning  the  dusty  miller  kept  up  a  merry 
chattering:. 

One  day  Nathan  looked  very  solemn,  and  the 
farmer  who  had  come  with  his  bag  of  wheat  won- 
dered what  had  happened.     He  asked  uo  ques- 


286 


The  Raid  of  the  Rats. 


lions,  for  he  knew  that  in  time  the  miller  would 
tell  him.  When  Nathan  had  emptied  the  wheat 
into  the  hopper  he  sat  down  beside  the  farmer  and 
began  to  talk.  ''  Do  you  know,"  said  he,  ^'  there 
is  something  carrying  off  my  wheat,  and  what  it 
is  I  don't  know,  but  I  have  my  suspicions  that  it 
is  the  rats.  I  have  about  made  up  my  mind  to 
set  traps  and  see  if  I  can  in  that  way  discover  who 
the  thieves  may  be." 


Kow  it  happened  that  the  rats  were  the  doeis 
of  all  the  mischief,  and  it  also  happened  that  one 
of  them,  who  had  taken  a  nap  on  a  beam,  wakened 
in  time  to  h^ar  what  the  miller  said. 

"Traps?'  thought  he,  *'that  ends  the  fun  for 
us.  We  will  carry  off  all  we  can  to-night,  and 
then  get  away  from  this  place."  Just  as  soon  as 
old  Ratty  could  leave  without  being  seen  he  hur- 
ried off  to  tell  the  rest  of  the  rats  the  news  he  had 
heard.     They  all  agreed  that  they  must  get  away 


The  Raid  of  the  Rats. 


287 


as  soon  as  possible,  but,  like  him,  they  wanted  one 
more  night  of  fun. 

When  night  came  a  big  crowd  had  gathered. 
They  had  merry  times  chasing  one  another,  in  and 
out  among  the  bags,  and  crawling  up  them  and 
sliding;  down  af!:ain. 

*'  I  have  an  idea,"  said  one  of  the  rats ;  "  I  think 


if  we  tried  we  miglit  manage  to  carry  away  one  of 
those  small  bags  of  flour.  We  could  hide  it  in 
the  wagon  house  and  have  a  merry  time  with  it." 

"  That's  a  splendid  idea,"  cried  they  all ;  "  we 
can  do  it  if  we  try." 

One  of  the  smallest  bags  was  selected,  and  all 
went  to  work,  and  they  did  work.  It  was  not 
easy  to  lift  the  sack  up  on  their  shoulders,  nor  to 


288  The  Back  Yard  Party. 

keep  it  there.     One  failure  followed  another,  but 

these  little  fellows  would  not  give  up,  and  they 
tried  and  tried  again,  until  at  last  success  rewarded 
their  efforts,  and  they  started  to  the  wagon  house. 
Now  the  shortest  road  to  the  wagon  house  was 
by  way  of  the  ledge  outside  of  the  large  mill  door. 
They  crept  along,  carefully  balancing  the  sack, 
when  all  at  once  the  bag  slipped,  and  over  all  of 
them  went  down  into  the  stream  below.  The  flour 
was  forgotten,  and  each  one's  mightiest  effort  was 
devoted  to  saving  himself.  They  had  a  good  hard 
pull,  but  at  last  all  stood  shivering  and  shaking  on 
the  bank,  the  sorriest  looking  crowd  of  rats  you 
ever  saw.  They  got  together  a  lot  of  sticks  and 
leaves  and  built  a  fire,  and  soon  looked  quite  them- 
selves again — but  the  flour  was  gone,  and  all 
agreed  that  they  had  paid  very  dearly  for  their  fun. 


The  Back  Yard  Party. 

Mrs.  Mouse  laid  down  her  pen  and  breathed  a 
sigh  of  relief.  She  had  been  busily  at  work 
getting  out  invitations  for  a  grand  garden  party  in 
the  back  yard,  and  now  she  had  finished*  The 
field  mice,  the  mice  at  the  barn  and  wagon  iiousc, 
and,  of  course,  the  house  mice,  all  were  invited. 


The  Back  Yard  Party. 


289 


Mrs.  Mouse  hoped  that  everything  might  be 
pleasant.  The  mice  at  the  house  were  rather  in- 
clined to  hold  themselves  a  little  above  the  field 
mice,  why  she  could  not  tell,  for  she  was  quite 
sure  one  family  was  as  good  as  the  other,  and  she 
had  no  wish  to  slight  either. 


Mrs.  Mouse  felt  all  of  a  flutter  when  the  night 
of  the  party  arrived.  She  had  allowed  her  four 
little  daughters  to  stay  up  for  a  while  and  see 
part  of  the  fun  if  they  would  promise  to  be  good. 
Very  nice  and  proper  they  looked  standing  side  by 
iyde  with  their  little  arms  folded.  The  first  to 
arrive  was  the  mouse  who  lived  in  ilie  parlor  cup- 
board. She  was  very  grand,  indeed,  in  her  kigh- 
19 


290 


The  Back  Yard  Party. 


topped  bonnet.  Grandmother  Skipper  and  her 
youngest  grandchild  came  next,  and  after  them 
came  Lady  Newly- Wed  and  her  husband.  On 
they  came,  one  after  the  other,  until  quite  a  large, 
merry  crowd  had  gathered  in  the  back  yard.  The 
young   mice  wanted  to   dance,  so   partners  were 


chosen,  and  the  merry  whirlers  went  spinning 
round  and  round  until  they  were  almost  ready  to 
drop. 

Billy  Nibble  and  Patty  Pry  grew  tired  of  danc- 
ing and  seated  themselves  on  top  of  the  gate. 
Tucker  Gray  saw  them,  and  he  feU  jealous,  for  he 


The  Back  Yard  Party. 


291 


had  a  great  fondness  for  little  Patty  and  did  all  in 
his  power  to  coax  her  away  from  Billy,  but  she 
would  not  come.  Then  Tucker  went  off  and  de- 
voted himself  to  Polly  Pruin.     Polly  was  charmed, 


^^^r- 

W^^^ 

- — 

^^^^^'^^^^^^^ 

■  p^\  ^ — 

^ 

for  she  had  been  sitting  all  alone,  waving  her  new 
turkey  feather  fan.  But  all  at  once  the  fun  was 
brought  to  a  close,  the  house  door  w^as  throw^n 
open,  and  out  stole  old  Tom,  the  big,  black  cat. 
Such  a   scapering  you   never   saw,  and   no   one 


292  Bruin's  Singing  School. 

stopped  until  he  had  safely  reached  his  home.  It 
was  a  shame  that  they  should  be  so  rudely  dis- 
turbed in  the  midst  of  their  fun,  for  they  were 
having  a  very  gay  time  all  by  themselves,  and 
they  are  such  cute  and  cunning  little  things  that 
we  like  to  see  them  enjoy  themselves. 


Bruin's  Singing  School. 

You  will  really  be  quite  surprised  when  I  tell 
you  how  Uncle  Bear  started  the  singing  school  at 
Matchless  Hollow.  It  happened  in  this  way. 
One  real  cold  winter  night,  when  the  snow  lay  on 
the  ground  like  a  great  white  blanket,  quite  a 
number  of  young  people  made  up  a  sleighing 
paiiy.  It  was  the  first  sleighing  of  the  winter, 
and  everybody  was  extremely  anxious  to  go. 
What  lots  of  fun  they  had  as  they  sped  over 
the  hard,  white  crust !  After  a  while  some  of  the. 
folks  began  holding  their  ears  and  rubbing  their 
hands  together  in  a  manner  that  showed  they  were 
far  from  warm.  "Wouldn't  it  be  jolly,"  some 
one  called  out,  "  to  stop  at  Uncle  Bear's."  "  Oh, 
do,"  came  from  all  sides.  It  did  not  take  them 
long  to  reach  the  home  of  the  Bears,  but  it  did 
take  some  time  to  rouse  the  old  folks  from  the 


Bruin's  Singing  School. 


293 


sound  sleep  into  which  they  had  fallen.  Both  the 
old  people  seemed  glad  to  see  their  young  friends, 
and  the  warm  fire  soon  sent  the  blood  tingling 
through  their  young  bodies.     "  Won't  you  give  us 


a  song,"  said  Auntie  Bear,  "  Uncle  and  I  are  so 
fond  of  music.^^  It  took  them  some  time  to  get 
started,  but  after  a  while  they  began,  and  they 
sung  very  merrily.     One  song  after  another  was 


294  Bruin's  Singing  School. 

sung,  and  then  Uncle  Bear  asked  them  why  they 
did  not  have  a  singing  school.  He  was  willing  to 
lead  them,  he  said,  for  he  did  not  think  he  had 
forgotten  all  he  had  learned  when  he  was  young. 
Everybody  was  delighted,  and  an  evening  was  set 
for  the  following  week.  With  many  thanks  for 
the  kind  reception  they  had  received,  the  young 


people  started  off,  singing  a  farewell  song  as  they 
gathered  together  out  in  the  moonlight. 

They  wanted  everybody  to  know  about  this 
singing  school  they  were  to  have  every  Tuesday 
evening  in  the  Hollow,  so  on  their  way  home  they 
arranged  to  get  Bonny  Bun,  the  white  rabbit,  to 
carry  invitations  to  all  the  dwellers  of  the  forest. 
This  he  could  do  very  easily,  for  he  wore  a  pair  of 


Bruin's  Singing  School.  295 

snow-shoes  which  helped  him  to  get  over  the 
ground  very  quickly.  Everybody  was  invited, 
even  to  the  birds,  and  such  a  crowd  as  gathered  in 
the  Hollow  was  enough  to  fill  Uncle  Bear's  heart 
with  delight.  He  arranged  them  in  a  circle  and 
began  to  sing,  starting  out  with  a  familiar  song 
about  the  hunter  and  his  gun.  After  one  or  two 
songs  he  said  they  must  settle  down  to  business. 
He  said  they  had  better  put  all  their  time  for  this 
one  evening  on  the  scale,  so  he  made  each  one  sing 
it  alone,  then  altogether,  while  he  stood  beating 
time  with  his  soft,  fat  hand.  Then  he  told  the 
animals  to  keep  quiet  and  listen  to  a  quintette  of 
birds  that  were  perched  on  a  nearby  tree.  These 
birds  sang  a  very  beautiful  song  that  made  the 
woods  ring  with  melody. 

Indeed,  it  was  so  very  beautiful  that  the  other 
animals  were  almost  afraid  to  try  their  voices  after- 
ward. However,  they  all  did  the  best  they  could 
to  follow  the  instructions  of  their  leader. 

When  the  hour  for  closing  came  they  all  agreed 
that  they  had  spent  a  very  pleasant  evening,  and 
voted  to  come  again  the  next  week.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  a  singing  school,  the  like  of  which 
had  not  been  known  in  many  years.  The  singing 
shool  proved  to  be  a  very  popular  thing,  and  be- 
fore the  winter  was  over  there  were  hundreds  of 


296 


Adventures  of  the  Mice. 


the  young  folks  of  the  forest  attending  it.  The 
greatest  part  of  the  fun  was  the  going  and  coming, 
and  this  was  especially  delightful  to  the  young 
lovers,  and  in  the  spring  there  were  many  wed- 
dings as  a  result. 


Adventures  of  the  Mice. 


Night  had  come,  and  the  Nibble  Family  had 
all  returned  to  their  home  in  the  front  cellar.  By 
and  by  some  of  the  neighbors  dropped  in,  until 
quite  a  party  had  gotten  together. 

''  We  had  a  feast," 
said  Lady  Nibble, "  but 
no  danger  attended  it. 
We  found  a  whole 
cheese  on  the  pantry 
shelf  with  not  a  sign 
of  a  cover  over  it.  It 
would  have  been  folly 
to  miss  such  a  chance 
as  this,  so  we  went  to 
work  and  ate  until  we 
could  hardly  move.  If  it  is  not  carried  off  we 
hope  to  have  another  feast  to-morrow." 

"  Do  you  know,  I  almost  lost  my  life  to-day," 


Adventures  of  the  Mice. 


297 


eaid  a  very  young  mouse,  ^'and  I'll  tell  you  how; 
I  saw  the  most  tempt- 
ing piece  of  cheese  in 
the  centre  of  a  funny 
red  box ;  so  I  put  ray 
head  in  to  take  a  bite, 
and,  bless  you,  a  spring 
snapped  down  and  held 
me  tight.  I  jumped 
around  and  around 
with  this  thing  on  my 
head,  and  shook  it  as 
hard  as  ever  I  could, 
although  I  was  nearly 
choked  to  death,  but  I 
could  not  get  out.  At 
last,  by  some  rare  good 
fortune,  the  wire  that 
held  the  spring  broke 
and  set  me  free.  It 
was  a  narrow  escape, 
and  it  taught  me  a 
good  lesson.  Never, 
as  long  as  I  live,  will  I 
venture  near  a  trap." 

"  We  had  quite  a  scare,  too,"  spoke  up  one  of 
*)/.  young  Snueaks.     "  My  brothers  and  I  crawled 


298 


Adventures  of  the  Mice. 


into  the  jail  to  see  what  we  could  find  to  eat.  "We 
often  pick  up  crumbs  there.  Well,  this  morning 
we  found  more  than  crumbs — we  had  quite  a  fine 
breakfast  of  cold  potatoes,  bread  and  a  pitcher  of 
milk.  We  were  so  interested  in  our  eating  that 
we  did  not  hear  a  sound  until  a  shadow  made  me 
look  up,  and  I  saw  a  big  yellow  cat  coming  to- 
wards us.     I   ran,  a  piece  of  bread  still  in  my 


mouth,  and  called  to  my  brothers,  and  all  of  us 
had  just  time  enough  to  get  out  of  the  clutches  of 
that  huge  yellow  monster.'^ 

"As  you  are  all  relating  experiences,''  said 
another  mouse,  "  I  might  as  well  tell  mine.  I 
strolled  out  in  the  wheat  field  to-day,  and  there  on 
a  sheaf  of  wheat  sat  a  dozen  or  more  of  our  cousins, 
the  field  mice,  nibbling  away  at  the  grain.  They 
asked  me  to  join  them ;  so  I  did,  and  I  really  had 


Adventures  of  the  Mice.  299 

a  very  pleasant  time.  If  you  have  a  chance,  visit 
them  some  day.  You  will  like  them  and  the 
grain  also.'' 

"  Speaking  of  something  to  eat " — this  from 
Bobby  Nibble — "  makes  me  think  of  the  egg 
which  three  of  us  boys  found.  We  found  it  in 
the  school  house  play  ground,  and  we  ate  every  bit 
of  it.  It  had  been  cooked,  I  suppose^  for  some 
fellow's  lunch.  Why  he  left  it  I  don't  know,  but, 
at  any  rate,  we  found  it  and  had  a  jolly  good  time 
with  it." 

"I  carried  off  a  jam  pie  this  afternoon,"  said 
Tommy  Scratch,  "and  if  you  will  come  across  to 
my  house  I  will  share  it  with  you."  No  one  needed 
a  second  invitation  nor  a  bit  of  coaxing.  Away 
they  all  scampered,  thinking  that  the  end  of  the 
day  was  to  be  the  best  part.  And  they  enjoyed  the 
feast  to  the  fullest  extent,  for  it  was  not  often  that 
they  had  such  a  treat  as  this.  They  thought  Tommy 
must  have  been  very  brave  to  dare  to  carry  off  a 
whole  pie.  They  looked  upon  him  as  sort  of  a 
hero,  and  were  very  polite  to  him  all  through  the 
evening. 

The  little  mice  must  have  kept  very  late  hours 
that  night,  for  all  night  long  could  be  heard  the 
sound  of  their  little  feet  as  they  scampered  here 
and  there. 


Cousin  Bear's  Party. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bruin  had  received  an  invita- 
tion to  a  party.  One  of  the  Bear  Cousins,  who 
lived  back  of  the  hill,  had  invited  them,  and  Mrs. 
Bruin  told  her  husband  that  they  must  not  fail  to 


go,  for  it  would  undoubtedly  be  a  grand  affair  if 
the  Bears  gave  it.  As  soon  as  possible  Mr.  Bruin 
ordered  a  new  suit  of  clothes  from  his  tailor,  a  hat 
from  his  hatter,  and  a  pair  of  the  most  stylish 
(300) 


Cousin  Bear's  Party.  301 

slippers  from  his  shoemaker.  These,  with  his  fine 
twisted  cane,  made  up  a  very  fine  costume.  Mrs. 
Bruin  immediately  summoned  lier  dressmaker,  and 
together  they  fashioned  a  gorgeous  crimson  gown. 
Her  bonnet  of  fine  white  straw  was  lined  with  red, 
and,  to  her  delight,  her  fond  husband  bought  her 
a  fine  feathered  fan. 

The  night  of  the  party  Mr.  Bruin  and  his  lov- 
ing wife  started  off  in  high  glee.  As  they  went 
along  they  were  the  objects  of  great  admiration. 
Mrs.  Bruin  wore  two  magnificent  sun  flowers  in 
her  belt.  The  night  was  perfect.  The  moon  was 
shining  brightly,  and  the  snow  beneath  their  feet 
sparkled  like  diamonds.  It  was  quite  a  long  walk, 
but  the  house  was  finally  reached,  and  a  most  de- 
lightful time  they  had.  Game  followed  game  in 
quick  succession,  until  the  call  to  supper  sounded 
in  their  ears.  The  refreshments  were  superb.  Mr. 
Bruin  declared  that  he  had  never  eaten  such  pork, 
so  tender  and  juicy,  and  the  lamb  was  perfect. 
Cousin  Bear  whispered  to  Mrs.  Bruin  that  she  had 
gotten  the  pork  from  their  neighbor,  the  farmer, 
while  the  lamb  had  been  procured  seven  miles  away. 
It  was  very  late  when  the  Bruins  started  for  home, 
and  as  they  sauntered  along  beneath  the  stars  they 
agreed  that  the  party  was  a  great  success,  and 
were  more  than  glad  to  think  that  they  had  gone. 


Cock  Robin. 


Cock  Robin. 


Who  killed  Cock  Eobin, 
Where  the  lilies  grow? 

(302) 


^UXu5U  allocs 


304  Cock  Eobin. 

I,  said  the  sparrow, 
With  my  bow  and  arrow, 
I  laid  him  low^ 

Who  saw  him  die 
In  the  cedar  top? 
I,  said  the  frog, 
As  I  sat  on  a  log, 

In  company  with  others, 
I  saw  him  drop. 

Who  was  at  hand 
To  catch  his  blood? 
I,  said  the  owl, 
With  my  big  bowl, 
I  caught  the  flood. 


Cock  Robin. 


305 


306  Cock  Robin. 


Who'll  make  a  shroud 
So  costly  and  fine? 
I,  said  the  beetle, 

With  my  thread  and  needle, 
The  task  shall  be  mine. 


Who'll  dig  a  grave 

In  the  yew-tree  shade? 
I,  said  the  mole, 

Will  soon  make  a  hole, 
ril  dig  the  grave. 

With  my  pickax  and  spade. 


Cock  Robin. 


307 


A»t«'^^-* 


308  Cock  Robin. 

Wlio'U  toll  the  bell 
In  the  chapel  tower? 
I,  said  the  daw, 
With  my  long  claw, 
I  toll  the  bell 
For  half  an  hour. 

Who'll  bear  a  blazing 
Torch  in  the  case? 
I,  said  the  kite, 

Will  cany  the  light 
And  show  the  way 
To  the  burial  place^ 


Cock  Kobin.  309 


310  Cock  Eobin. 

Who'll  bear  the  pall 
Both  careful  and  slow? 
I,  said  the  stork, 

With  a  measured  stride, 
My  legs  are  long 

And  my  shoulders  wide, 
I'll  bear  the  pall 
To  the  plain  below. 

Who'll  sing  a  psalm 
As  the  hearse  goes  by? 
I,  said  the  thrush, 
If  others  will  hush, 
I'll  sing  a  verse 
Will  bring  tears 
To  the  eye. 


Cock  Robin. 


311 


312  Cock  Kobin. 

Who'll  be  the  parson 
With  faith  and  trust? 
I,  said  the  rook, 

Will  read  from  my  book, 
*^  Ashes  to  ashes, 
And  dust  to  dust/^ 


Who'll  mark 

The  songster's  earthy  bed? 
I,  said  the  bat, 

Will  attend  to  that, 
ril  carve  his  name 

On  the  tree  at  his  head. 


Cock  Robin. 


313 


314  Cock  Robin.        ^ 

Who'll  keep  it  green 
When  summer  is  here? 
I,  said  the  hare 

Will  plant  flowers  there, 
I'll  keep  it  green 

Through  many  a  yean 

Who  suffered  for  his  fault, 
Ere  a  week  rolled  by? 
Who,  but  the  sparrow 
That  shot  the  fatal  arrow 
And  roused  the  indignation 
Of  all  creatures 
Far  and  nigh. 


Cock  Robin. 


315 


The  Narrow  Escape. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Graycoat  and  the  four  little 
Graycoats  lived  iu  the  garret  of  a  big,  roomy,  old 
farm  house.  There  were  great  chests  up  there, 
around  which  the  little  mice  played  tag,  and  cor- 
ners dark  and  dreary  in  which  they  often  hid. 
Fine  times  these  four-footed  little  fellows  enjoyed 
scam[)eri ng  around  wherever  they  pleased  in  this 
their  garret  home. 

Mrs.  Graycoat  was  a  nice  little  mouse  and  very 
fond  of  her  husband  and  four  little  children, 
as  they  were  also  of  her.  Mr.  Graycoat  thought 
his  wife  very  beautiful  when  she  put  on  the  pink 
calico  mob  cap  that  had  once  been  the  property  of 
Charlotte,  the  bisque  doll  from  Paris.  Father 
Mouse's  coat  was  also  part  of  the  wardrobe  of  one 
of  the  dolls,  and  fitted  him  so  tight  he  could 
scarcely  breathe  in  it,  but  still  he  was  very  proud 
of  his  rig  and  wore  it  whenever  he  went  to  market. 
Father  Mouse  did  the  marketing,  while  Mother 
Mouse  stayed  at  home  with  the  four  little  Gray- 
coats,  for  they  were  such  mischievous  little  chaps 
it  was  not  wise  to  leave  them  alone.  The  market- 
ing was  done  in  the  pantry  or  else  at  the  great 
hanging  shelf  by  the  cellar  stairs.  Father  Gray- 
coat carried  a  bag  over  his  arm  into  which  he 
(316) 


(317) 


318  The  Narrow  Escape. 

dropped  one  morsel  after  another  for  tne  wife  an^ 
babies  at  home. 

One  morning  he  started  on  his  daily  raid,  his 
bag  over  his  arm,  and  his  tight-fitting  coat  but- 
toned snugly  around  him,  promising  the  little 
Graycoats  to  come  back  soon  and  to  bring  a  nibble 
of  cake  to  each  of  them  if  they  would  be  very 
good  children.  He  had  been  gone  some  time  when 
Mrs.  Graycoat  put  on  her  pink  cap  and  gathered 
the  little  ones  around  her  to  wait  for  his  coming. 
Long  and  long  they  waited,  and  the  babies  were 
growing  as  hungry  as  little  bears,  and  cross,  too, 
for  they  wanted  the  promised  cake  ;  but  no  Father 
Graycoat  came.  What  could  have  happened  ? 
The  little  mother  was  getting  anxious,  for  he  had 
never  been  gone  so  long  before.  By  and  by  came 
the  patter  of  well-known  feet,  and  there  stood  Mr. 
Graycoat,  breathless  and  empty  handed  and  tremb- 
ling like  a  leaf.  Such  a  time  as  he  had  had  !  A 
great  white  cat  had  taken  possession  of  tlie  cellar 
and  had  led  old  Graycoat  a  long  and  weary  chase. 
Hunger  was  forgotten  then,  for  Mother  Graycoat 
had  time  to  think  of  nothing  but  their  happiness  in 
having  the  father  home  safe  and  sound. 


The  Sick  Lion. 

The  King  of  the  Forest  had  been  sick  for 
"weeks,  and  every  day  he  grew  thinner  and  thinner 
— so  thin  that  you  could  count  his  ribs,  and  his 
great  jaw-bones  stood  out  sharp  and  bold  from 
underneath  his  shaggy  mane.  He  could  not  eat, 
and  he  could  not  sleep,  and  he  was  becoming  so 
cross  and  surly  that  his  friends  and  neighbors 
dared  not  go  near  him.  He  had  long  ceased  to 
wander  through  the  forest,  and  his  roar,  once  so 
strong  and  mighty,  now  sounded  lii^e  a  feeble 
groan. 

The  beasts  all  pitied  their  poor  sick  king,  for 
thoiigli  they  feared  him,  they  had  always  thought 
him  a  very  handsome  fellow,  and  were  proud  of 
his  bold  and  daring  ways.  But  now  they  felt 
that  all  was  over,  and  that  it  would  not  be  long 
before  the  poor  old  lion  would  lie  down  to  die. 
'Now  one  bright  sunshiny  day  the  Rhinoceros  lell 
his  home  some  way  down  the  river  to  take  a  good 
long  swim  and  perhaps  call  upon  his  friends  who 
lived  on  the  other  side.  The  swim  was  a  long 
one,  and  the  sun  was  growing  very  warm,  so 
when  he  reached  the  spot  where  his  friends  lived 
he  was  most  happy  to  stop  there  to  rest  and  re- 
fresh himself.     The  Rhinoceros  knew  the   Lion, 

(319) 


320  The  Sick  Liou 

and  after  the  gentle  breezes  had  fanned  him  and 
he  had  grown  cool  and  comfortable  he  went  to 
visit  him.  Such  a  hopeless  object  as  the  Rhi- 
noceros found — he  scarcely  knew  him.  "He 
will  surely  die/'  thought  the  Rhinoceros,  "I 
must  try  to  do  soriiething  for  him/'  and  he  thought 
and  thought,  until  at  last  he  hit  upon  a  plan  that 
pleased  him  very  much.  "  My  friend/'  said  he, 
"  will  you  go  home  with  me  ?  I  am  sure  if  you 
had  a  change  you  would  soon  be  yourself  again, 
and  it  is  much  cooler  where  I  live.  If  you  will 
only  consent  you  can  mount  my  back  and  we  wull 
swim  down  the  river  in  a  little  while."  It  was  a 
long  while  before  the  poor  old  king  would  yield, 
but  he  did  at  last,  and  the  Rhinoceros  took  such 
good  care  of  him,  and  his  house  was  so  cool  and 
pleasant,  that  the  Lion  soon  got  well  and  strong. 


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